


Escape (First Draft)

by Spartan5271



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Grimm Eyes, Grimm are people that can perform magic, Modern Day and Fantasy, Spells & Enchantments, The spells are in Latin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 53,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23773006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spartan5271/pseuds/Spartan5271
Summary: Imagine an alternate universe in the year 2040. In this universe, there is a small amount of the human population that has the ability to cast magic. These people are referred to as Grimm. Since their sudden rise in population, the government has formed the GDTF, a Task Force dedicated to the incapacitation of Grimm. Follow Ruby Rose, the daughter of Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long and secret Grimm, as she travels across multiple states with her traveling companion, Jaune Arc, in the hopes of finding a group of Grimm that will escort them to a safe haven. Will their journey end in detainment? Death? Or will they...
Relationships: Coco Adel & Velvet Scarlatina, I can't tell what the difference is between & and /, Jaune Arc & Ruby Rose, Raven Branwen/Taiyang Xiao Long
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for taking the time to read this, I hope to hear honest criticism so that I can improve my writing.

_A person that my father watched once said, "The single quality that is common across every living creature on this planet, is fear. ... But fear itself isn't worthy of concern; it is who we become while in its clutches."_

_Prologue_

_Queens, New York City_

_November 27th, 2040_

_4:32 PM_

The sounds of chatter, construction, and car horns filled the streets of New York City. People were walking side-by-side with synthetic machines that were being used as human-shaped shopping carts along the sidewalk, an occasional shout came from the street as the traffic was slowly piling up, and the T.V.'s were playing the news.

'Good evening, citizens of New York. I am Lisa Lavender. Today we have some breaking news to share with you. Just a few hours ago, the Senate voted in favor of pushing the Grimm Clearing Bill ahead of schedule, moving the vote to this December rather than next May. While many in the Senate appear to be glad about this decision, Senator Robyn Hill exclaimed her feelings regarding the bill,' Lisa said.

The Grimm are what humans call other people who can cast magic. Yes, I said magic.

As the monitors switched to a video of Senator Hill, sirens were ringing as two police cruisers were on their way to their destination.

While one was the standard police charger, the leading vehicle had a carbon black exterior with yellow lights on the top of the cars, and four golden letters across the sides of them: G.D.T.F.

_The Grimm Detainment Task Force are specialized police units trained in handling any situations relating to managing any individuals capable of magic. Their primary objective was to incapacitate any Grimm that they find and take them back to the Institutions._

__

_A year after the Grimm began to appear around the country, Doctor Arthur Watts was placed in charge of the government-funded maximum security prisons across the country known as the Institutions. These structures were designed for maintaining the Grimm. During his time as the Head of Institutions, Watts allegedly ran multiple tests on Grimm prisoners behind closed doors, trying to find out how they were able to perform these feats. When he was unable to find the answer, he began experimenting with different ways of "curing" them. Cut tongues, severed hands, stiched mouths, and more... But nobody cared about the Grimm back then. Even when a whistleblower testified about Watts' experiments, the senators did not seem to care. Most of them anyway..._

From the leading charger's interior, Senator Hill's voice echoed through the vehicle's radio.

'This bill is a national disgrace to our country and completely contradicts what our country stands for. We are supposed to be the land of the free and home of the brave, not the land of fear and enslaved. To even suggest the content that is in this bill should have any senator removed from their position. Not only is this bill a waste of taxpayer money, but it is also massively inhumane. We—’

“Switch the radio back to the police comms. We’re getting to our destination,” The driver sternly said.

“You’re is a mood today, Tai,” The passenger said as he turned off the radio.

_Taiyang Xiao Long. Due to his admiration for the law, Taiyang joined the NYPD shortly after receiving his general education and . During his time as an N.Y.P.D officer, Taiyang was known to follow the law above anything else. From jaywalking to corrupt cops, Taiyang shows little regard for who he is arresting, only what the charges are. When the G.D.T.F was established, Taiyang felt that he could do some real good and protect those that he cares about._

“You hearing us, Raven?”

‘I thought that you would never shut that damn thing off. Okay, boys, listen up. You are about five minutes away from the destination. Miss Belladonna is currently on the other line and said that the Grimm is currently unaware of where she is.’

_Raven Branwen. Grew up in Jackson Heights and was an expert with technology and communications. When she graduated with a degree in tech, Raven moved to Queens to become a Communications Operative in the NYPD where she met Taiyang. The two became close friends while on the force and when the G.D.T.F was established, Branwen was offered a position for the Head of Comms on the task force._

“Copy that. Try to keep her calm. One wrong move and this can get messy,” Taiyang said.

‘Understood, sir. Good luck, Lieutenant. Qrow, make sure that he doesn’t kill himself.’

“You know it.”

_Qrow Rose. When Qrow was a single child, he was frequently abused by his father while his mother chose to ignore him. When his sister, Summer, was born, Qrow vowed to protect her and defended her from their father, usually adding her punishments onto his own. When Summer graduated from high school, the two siblings left Chicago and moved to New York to start a new life away from their parents. Once they managed to find an affordable place to stay in, the siblings quickly found work. While Summer took on various part time jobs while she went to med school, Qrow joined the N.Y.P.D. During his time on the force, Qrow met Raven and Taiyang and became fast friends. When the G.D.T.F was established, Qrow was hesitant to join since he thought that it was a joke but joined because he thought that it could increase his salary._

_After a few years of friendship, Taiyang and Qrow became brothers, both in arm and by marriage after Summer and Taiyang got married._

“Okay, rookies, listen up,” Taiyang said, “What we have here is a 10-62. The hostage is a teenager by the name of Blake Belladonna. Information says that she was in the kitchen when she heard her mother scream in the backyard before a loud explosion came from the living room. She panicked and ran into the attic and has been waiting for us to arrive. If this information is accurate, then that means that we have an opening in the back of the house. So, we will be performing a pincer maneuver. Sergeant Rose and I will be entering the house through the back while the two of you distract the Grimm from the front. If the Grimm shows any hint of attacking, extreme force is authorized.”

‘Yes, lieutenant!’

“But hey, let’s try to not get blood on the carpet, guys. I’d prefer getting shot instead of getting a bill for cleaning a carpet in this city,” Qrow said.

“Time to get serious, everyone. We are pulling up to the household now,” Taiyang said.

Upon pulling up to the home, the four saw two cars parked outside of the house, the door into the side yard was wide open, and shouting could be heard from inside the house.

“Blake!”

“Command, we have confirmation that the Grimm is still inside the house.”

‘10-4. Vehicle is a black pickup truck.’

“I have visual confirmation on the vehicle. Driver door is open and there appears to be bags in the truck.”

‘10-4. You have the green light to enter the residence. Reminder that lethal force is authorized.’

“10-4,” Taiyang said as he opened the trunk of the charger, revealing the weapons of the G.D.T.F.

_The standard equipment that the G.D.T.F are allowed are a modified FN P90 with a single/burst selective fire and laser sighting. When it came to protection, G.D.T.F officers had standard issue riot gear._

“We have the green light,” Taiyang said to the other G.D.T.F members as they loaded their weapons, “Remember, the top priority is trying to arrest the Grimm. but we do have a green light for neutralization."

“Stick to the plan and follow your training. We’ll be having our rounds at Neir’s before you know it,” Qrow said as he loaded his gun.

The four split into two teams, the rookies approaching the front of the house while Qrow and Taiyang went through the side gate.

As they pushed forward, Taiyang and Qrow came to a halt as they heard a door open inside the house.

“Blake! Where are you? Blake, I promise I will explain everything, but we have to hurry!”

“Attention all units, Grimm sounds like he is in a panicked state. Caution is advised.”

Taiyang and Qrow continued until they turned the corner into the backyard, only to find a burnt corpse next to a recently lit fireplace.

"We have a body here," Qrow said into his radio, approaching cautiously and kneeling next to it. "The body looks to be female, around forties, slightly below average height, average weight. Miss Belladonna mentioned that her mom was in the backyard before she heard screaming, so it is likely her. The heat from the fireplace is still warm,” Taiyang tapped Qrow's shoulder before pointing at the large hole that was in the glass door overlooking the yard.

“Command, we have visual confirmation of a glass door that has a giant hole in it. Based on the blast, it came from outside. It looks to me like the Grimm came in through the side yard. Further investigation will be needed for a more accurate assessment.”

"Sergeant Rose and I are in position. Rookies, what is your status,” Taiyang asked.

'Officer Phillip and I are in position. Guns are set for burst fire, sir.'

"Okay. Introduce yourselves."

A loud knock was heard from within the house.

"G.D.T.F.! OPEN UP!"

“No, no, no! _Ignis_!”

Hearing a spell being cast, Qrow and Taiyang ran inside the house through the hole in the door. Where a mahogany door once stood was a large hole leading out into the front yard, the wood now outlined by a burning black ring.

Looking through the hole, Taiyang and Qrow saw Officer Phillips was on the ground, unconscious, while officer Derek had his gun trained on the Grimm, who stood in the center of all three officers.

The Grimm that stood before them had a good two feet on them, was very muscular, and his eyes were black voids with glowing blood-red pupils to contrast it. These were the eyes of a Grimm. They appear only when a Grimm casts magic.

"I am Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long of Queens' Grimm Detainment Task Force. Ghira Belladonna, you are under arrest for crime of using magic, for murdering your wife, Kali Belladonna, and for the attempted kidnapping of Blake Belladonna. You will come with us and we will take you to the nearest Institution. Know that we are authorized the use of force, lethal or otherwise.”

“My wife, is she…”

“She’s dead. You killed her, Ghira,” Qrow said.

This seemed to shock Ghira as he stumbled a bit, placing a hand on his head and mumbling, “No… I-I didn’t mean to… I was just—”

“Why don’t we just calm down. You will go to the Institution, and—”

As Qrow was talking, Taiyang noticed the expression on Ghira’s face shift from sadness to anger. Ghira’s eyes shifted back and forth before screaming, “ _Aer_!”

Qrow was suddenly shot back by a strong and controlled gust of wind that was sent out by Ghira’s hand. Qrow slammed into the wall before falling to the ground. Taiyang saw this and yelled, “Fire!”

Taiyang and the other rookie fired their weapons at the same time, with both hitting various parts of the Grimm's body. Falling to his knees, Ghira looked down and placed his hand on his chest, feeling the dark red liquid pouring over his hand.

Slowly looking up at both Qrow and Taiyang, Ghira gasped, “Blake… I…I’m…”

But those were Ghira’s final words. As the Grimm's blood-red eyes dilated, his hands limped towards the ground before his body collapsed onto the floor. As the pool of blood began to pour out, Qrow slowly got back up and said, “Damn, that hurt.”

“You okay,” Taiyang asked.

“Yeah… Rookie, go check on Phillips. I’ll go find the kid.”

“Grimm has been neutralized. We’re going to need a few body bags.”

5:47 PM

After giving her statement on what happened before she ran to the attic, Blake was allowed to leave the precinct with a family member.

Inside the G.D.T.F department, the lights were out, and almost all of the G.D.T.F that had day shift had gone home; the only person from the day shift who was still working in the G.D.T.F was Taiyang, who was typing his report into the computer.

Hearing a knock on his office door, Taiyang looked up to see his Head of Communications, Raven Branwen, standing at the door, out of uniform.

“What are you still doing here,” Raven asked as she walked up to Taiyang’s desk.

"Just finishing the report on that Grimm that broke into the house,” Taiyang said as he finished another section.

“Well, Qrow is offering to buy the first round tonight to celebrate the rookies pulling off their first mission. You maybe want to come with?”

"I can't. I promised Ruby that I'd watch a movie with her tonight."

"Oh, was that tonight,” Raven asked.

"Yeah, and she's been really busy with school, so I feel like I owe it to her."

Raven walked up and placed a hand on Taiyang's shoulder. "I know that the day is coming up."

Taiyang looked over to a dated photo of his younger self and another woman sitting at home with their three-year-old daughter.

_Summer Rose was on her way home with their daughter, Ruby Rose, who was around seven at the time, when the car was struck directly in the driver-side door by a car that drove through a red light. While Ruby receives cuts, bruises, and a broken arm, Summer died from the impact._

"If you ever need to talk to someone—"

"Thanks, Raven. I should be fine here. I'll see you tomorrow,” Taiyang said as he leaned up and pecked Raven on the cheek.

_Around five years after Summer’s death, Taiyang and Raven began to grow closer and soon developed a relationship. Raven acknowledged that she would likely never replace Summer, but told Taiyang that she is willing to try her best to be as good as Summer. They have been dating now for two years now._

_6:32 PM_

Taiyang pulled his car into the driveway of his house. Proceeding up the three brick steps to his home, Taiyang opened the door to see his daughter sitting in the family room, eating some instant popcorn, watching T.V, when he heard a robotic voice say, ‘Ah! Good evening, sir! Shall I take your coat, sir?’

"No, Penny, I'm fine. Why don't you go to charge?”

_The Synthetic Phase 3 Nanny Emulation Android, or Penny as Ruby liked to call it. Penny was given to Taiyang as a gift by the department to act as a nanny and mother figure for Ruby after Summer passed away and he had to work longer shifts to make ends meet. During this period, Ruby grew to love Penny as a mother. Penny does many chores around the house, from cleaning to tutoring, Penny is like Ruby’s only friend._

‘Thank you, sir,’ Penny bowed before walking over to the wall and plugged its standard-issue android charger into its hip before powering down.

“Hey, Dad, how was work?”

Taiyang put his coat on the coat hanger before sitting down beside his daughter.

_Ruby Rose… That’s me. Ever since my mom’s death, I have been a social outcast according to my teachers and my doctors. If you must know, I do not care much for friends. I mean, if you are going to eventually move to opposite ends of the country after high school and rarely talk to one another, then what’s the point? Besides, I know how to keep myself busy._

“Got a report of a hostage situation. Grimm killed his wife and was looking for his daughter in the house. Uncle Qrow got slammed into the wall” Taiyang said as he grabbed the remote.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. The Grimm was not as lucky.”

“Did you hear Senator Hill’s comments about the bill?”

“Briefly.”

“Do you think that they are actually going to go through with it,” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know… let’s just forget about all that and watch the movie.”

“Okay… So what relic from your childhood are you going to force me to watch,” Ruby said in a very sarcastic tone.

"Keep talking like that, and I will pull out what was considered a bad movie back then."

"I mean, what amazing piece of cinema are we going to watch,” Ruby said in a very positive tone.

“That's what I thought," Taiyang chuckled, "How about The Matrix?"

"Those graphics are so bad, though…"

"Or we can watch Birdemic 2 again."

"Okay! Okay! We can watch The Matrix."

_8:32 PM_

After the movie was done, Ruby proceeded into her room.

"Hey, Dad! I'm going to read for a bit before I head to bed."

"Okay, don't stay up too late, though. It’s a school night.”

“I know…” Ruby said as she shut the door and carefully turned the lock so that it would lock without making too much noise.

Walking to her bed, Ruby got onto her knees to reached underneath. Feeling what she was looking for, Ruby pulled out a book with the cover saying, ‘Diary.’ But when Ruby opened the "diary," the actual title of the book was ‘English to Latin Translator.’

_In 2031, when the Grimm were starting to pop up more and more around the world, it was discovered that all of the spells Grimm casted were derived from their Latin roots, so the language was declared illegal within the U.S. and other countries as well. Shortly after this, all forms of literature pertaining to the Latin language were confiscated and destroyed. Well, almost all of it._

Ruby turned on her bedside lamp and climbed back on top of her comforter. Opening to a bookmarked page, Ruby began to stare intently at a single phrase and tried to say it.

“P…Parva locks. No… Parva Lucks… shit come on. _Parva Lux_. ”

Ruby looked at her bedside table as her lamp seemed to grow brighter. Extending her hand towards the light, Ruby repeated the spell.

" _Parva Lux_."

As the lamp began to glow brighter, Ruby watched as a luminescent blur began to move towards Ruby’s hand. Turning her hand to have her palm facing upward, she stared in awe as the blur slowly formed a small light in her hand that began to grow brighter by every second. Unfortunately, the light began to grow too bright for Ruby to stare at.

“Uh oh,” Ruby used her other hand to cover her eyes.

Ruby turned away from the light as it began to get too bright and quickly flipped through the pages of the translation book, finding the right translation to dim the light.

“Let’s tru… cali… gave— no, gav i runt. _Caligaverunt_.”

The overwhelming light slowly began to subside until the glow was just bright enough to give off the same amount of light as a night light. Now that it was safe to look at, Ruby stared at the ball of light with wonder in her eyes as she saw the multiple bright colors waving around in a perfect translucent sphere just above the palm of her hand.

Smiling, Ruby looked towards the mirror and saw her glowing reflection.

_I knew what I was. I was not the monster that scared your child in the night. I was not the terrorist that was wreaking havoc on the people of New York. I was just… me._

Not wanting to get caught, Ruby raised her hand upward, as if she were gently letting a bird fly from her hand, and watched as the orb of light flew into the air before crumbling away like sand in an hourglass.

Placing both her hands on her eyes and whispered, " _Abscondam_." She felt her eyes slowly changing back to their original form. Once the spell was done, she removed her hands and looked at her reflection in the mirror once more.

As she stared at her reflection, Ruby was happy to see that her eyes were white with silver irises again. Placing the book in its original hiding spot, Ruby got into bed and went to sleep, ready to head to school the next morning.

_This is the tale of my Escape._


	2. The Normal Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby Rose, the daughter of single father Taiyang Xiao Long, is going through her normal schedule on a busy school day.

_Queens, New York City_

_November 27th, 2040_

_7:30 AM_

The sound of an annoying alarm clock filled the cluttered and messy room of Ruby Rose, who was slowly opening her eyes while feeling exhausted. Swiping her hand at the bedside table, Ruby felt a sense of satisfaction upon hitting the alarm clock’s off switch. Slowly rising up from her bed, Ruby groaned as she stretched her arms as far as she could.

Her moment of silence was quickly interrupted as Penny suddenly opened Ruby’s door and walked in, 'Good morning Miss Rose.'

“Hey Penny, what is it like outside?”

'The date is Tuesday, December 2nd, 2040. The time is 7:30 in the morning. The weather will have snowy skies. There is also a 98% chance of heavy snow in the late evening.'

As Penny was listing off the information for the day, Ruby got out of bed and began rubbing her eyes.

'Your father is currently in the living room, watching the television. Shall I inform him that you are awake now?'

"No, that won't be necessary, but if you could turn on the shower in a few minutes, that would be great."

'As you wish, Miss Rose.'

Penny proceeded out of the room, leaving Ruby to take care of her chores. After making her bed, cleaning her floor, packing her backpack, Ruby just needed to freshen up. Grabbing some clothes, the teenager walked to the doorframe before realizing that she had one last thing that she needed to do.

Walking back to her bed, Ruby placed her clothes and bag down, kneeled beside her bed, and reached underneath to grab the translation book.

_A few years ago, my father brought home a case that contained various belongings of a small group of Grimm that were hiding out in the city. My dad raided the hideout, but failed to catch the Grimm. While the contents mainly consisted of clothing, food wrappers, and water bottles, there were a few Latin translation books inside._

_I, who was only twelve at the time, was curious about the book and decided to… borrow it. Ironic that I was doing it to pretend to be a “mean and disgusting” Grimm. When I opened it, I saw that the text was full of markings: circled and crossed out words. As I read through the book, I came across a Latin phrase that had a note next to it._

_“Easy for first timers? Hmm,” I read to myself._

_I, being a curious ten year old, said the spell… and that is when my life changed forever._

‘Miss Rose! Your shower is ready,’ Penny raised her voice.

“Thank Penny. I’ll be there in a second,” Ruby turned towards the door and said as she absent mindedly placed the book in her backpack and walked out of her room.

As Ruby turned the corner towards the bathroom, Ruby saw Penny was waiting just out in the hallway.

‘I have calibrated the shower to an appropriate setting.’

“Thanks Penny,” Ruby smiled as she entered the bathroom.

Shutting and locking the door, Ruby placed her fresh clothes on the counter.Stripping out of her pajamas jumping quickly into the shower, Ruby quickly realized that the water was ice cold.

"Penny, the shower is freezing,” Ruby yelled as she quickly turned up the heat.

‘Your energy levels were low, so I set the shower to an appropriate temperature to help adjust those levels. Now, if you will excuse me, I will make you a nutritious breakfast.’

Ruby released a defeated sighed as she placed herself under the, now, warmer water. As she felt the water gliding down her body, Ruby raised her hand under the falling water.

Closing her eyes, Ruby whispered, “ _Aqua_.”

The water surrounding Ruby’s hand suddenly came to a stop and began to move towards the center of her hand. As the drops formed together, the spell slowly grew until Ruby had formed a small ball of water.

_I still remember the reaction I had when I used this spell that night. I felt a small sting in my eyes before looking in the mirror and seeing I had Grimm eyes. I remember thinking that I was going to die from a panic attack before my father shot me._

As Ruby focused on the new spell, she almost jumped at the sudden knock on the door. Having lost her concentration, the ball of water quickly lost its shape. It fell through Ruby's fingers, splashing against the ceramic floor and going down the drain.

'Miss Rose, your breakfast is ready and is in the living area. I must also inform you that you are currently thirty-five seconds behind your average Monday through Friday schedule.'

"Thanks, Penny. I'll be right out!"

Ruby quickly washed her hair before turning the water off. Jumping out of the shower, she looked in the mirror and saw her Grimm eyes.

_I contemplated telling my dad about what I was… but I was frightened about how he, a G.D.T.F officer, would react. I may have been young, but I knew how long Grimm tend to last in the States once they’re discovered. So instead, I went back to the book and frantically searched for a spell that could fix my eyes._

Ruby faced the mirror and placed her hands over her eyes and said, “ _Abscondam._ ”

_Imagine putting eye contacts on, but without all the trouble of shutting your eyes too soon. The only problem is that your eyes feel itchy for a few minutes after using the spell._

After using the spell, Ruby opened her eyes and saw that they were… normal.

_I always hated using this spell… Yeah, it’s what kept me alive, but it also kept me from being who I really am…_

After brushing and flossing her teeth, Ruby put on her fresh clothes and walked out of the bathroom freshly showered, clothed, and clean.

Despite the house’s smaller size, Ruby never really cared. It was her home and it had all she really needed. It had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a main living area that had the kitchen, entryway, and living room all connected. Walking into the kitchen area, Ruby saw the cup of coffee on the granite countertop next to a plate of fat-trimmed bacon, scrambled eggs with a light layer of pepper, shredded carrots on top of a small handful of spinach, and a quesadilla cut into thirds.

‘Miss Rose, your breakfast is ready.’

"Thanks, Penny," Ruby said as she grabbed her drink and began to enjoy her very sugary coffee.

‘I have added your average cream and sugar. I must once again express that the very high sugar levels that you request are considered counter-beneficial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle in every way, Miss Rose.’

“Yes, but nothing gives me more joy than this very sugary, very delicious drink you make.”

‘While I appreciate your attempt to change the subject, Miss Rose, I must still urge you to change your coffee preferences.’

“Okay, next time, I promise,” Ruby smiled.

‘You have said that approximately six hundred and twenty three times. The odds of you keeping this promise are—’

“Up up up, coffee time,” Ruby said as she sipped her drink.

‘Breaking News: It appears that the institution in Montana was just attacked by the Grimm terrorist group known as The Light.’

Ruby turned her attention to the TV as it showed one of the Institutions on fire. Walking closer to the TV, Ruby saw Taiyang sitting on the couch in his uniform.

‘According to the officials supervising the Institution, they held nearly three thousand Grimm. Fortunately, there were no human casualties in the attack, but a few handfuls of Grimm were killed during the escape. Montana's G.D.T.F units are on high alert and will continue searching for the Grimm that managed to escape. The terrorist group known as The Light claim responsibility for the attack. More details after this—'

"More of the same old crap…" Taiyang said as he stood up.

“How many is that now,” Ruby asked as she sipped her coffee.

Taiyang turned to his daughter and said, “This makes the second attack in the last three weeks.”

“You think that this has something that has to do with Project Remnant?”

“I don’t know, maybe. All I care about is that it wasn’t the Institution here,” Taiyang sighed.

_If you must know what Project Remnant is, then allow me to refer you to President Ironwood, the creator of Project Remnant. Ironwood announced late last year that he had a project in development that would “solve” the Grimm “outbreak” easily. If I knew then what I know now, I would have left weeks ago._

“I think that it’s a little weird that the Grimm didn’t kill any humans in the attack,” Ruby said.

“Well, that means that the security at that Institution did their jobs.”

“Or maybe the Grimm aren’t the killers that people say?”

“You’ve been listening to Senator Hill, haven’t you,” Taiyang asked.

“Well, at least, I am not just sitting on the couch, listening to Lisa Lavender spew a bunch of nonsense about the Grimm.”

“Right, you just sit in your room, listening to Robyn Hill spew a bunch of nonsense about the Grimm,” Taiyang said.

Ruby rolled her eyes and had another sip of her coffee, knowing that any further discussion would ruin the morning. Instead, Ruby decided to change the subject.

“I got an A on my history paper.”

“That’s good to hear,” Taiyang said as he looked down at his watch, “Shit, I better get going.”

Taiyang grabbed his keys and his coat before turning to Ruby and said, “Have a good day at school, and remember: If you see a Grimm, you…”

_I hated saying this every. Fucking. Morning. It was like asking me how I would react if I saw another me… okay that would be freaky, but you get what I am trying to say._

“I call you and get away from the nasty terrorist as soon as possible.”

  
Taiyang gave Ruby a smile and a nod before saying, “Good luck at school.”

As he shut the door, Ruby muttered, “Asshole.”

As she was having another sip of coffee, Penny walked up and said, 'Miss Rose, I must inform you that you are now approximately two minutes past schedule.'

Ruby’s eyes widened as she spat out her coffee, "Oh shit, I'm going to miss the train!"

'Explicit language is not appropriate for someone of your age range, Miss Rose.’

Ruby grabbed her bag and ran out of the front door, childishly yelling, "Fuck off, Penny!”

As the young Grimm ran off, Penny stood there and shook her head, ‘Miss Rose, you are, without a doubt, the most interesting human I have met.’

Penny then saw the spray of coffee on the floor and said, ‘Ooh, a new objective.’

_Washington, DC_

_November 27th, 2040_

_7:46 AM_

An older woman was sitting in her office, reading article titles about her on a social media platform.

‘Senator Cordovan calls for Senator Hills Resignation.’

‘Senator Robyn Hill’s stance on the Grimm receives heavy backlash.’

‘Senator or Traitor Hill?’

Senator Robyn Hill snapped back to reality as her door opened up and her assistant, Fiona Thyme, walked in with a coffee. The assistant had a red sweater, a white shirt that had a rather large orange stain on it, and blue jeans.

“Good morning, Miss Hill,” Fiona said as she took off her sweater.

“Good morning, Fiona.”

_Fiona Thyme: Loyal personal intern of Robyn Hill. A short time defender of the Grimm, Fiona managed to catch the attention of Robyn because of her blogs that discuss the benefits of the Grimm. During her first few months as the senator’s high school intern, Fiona felt relieved to see that someone in the Senate did seem to care as much for the Grimm as she did. Sure, Fiona can be clumsy, but she has a passion and that was more than enough for Senator Hill._

“Miss Hill, I am so sorry for being late. The commute was terrible, the coffee shop didn’t have any caramel for your drink, so I went to the nearest store and bought some, but I dropped the entire container in my lap in my car and—”

Robyn raised her hand, gave Fiona a compassionate smile, and said,“ Don’t worry about it. Besides, I would prefer to be stuck in traffic than read any more of these stupid articles.”

“It can’t be that bad, can it?”

  
Robyn responded by simply turning on the T.V.

'Good morning New York City, I am Lisa Lavender, news anchor of the Vale News Broadcast. Late last evening, Senator Cordovan accused Senator Hill of aiding the Grimm terrorist organization known as the Light, who has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on the Institutions along the American-Canadian border. We asked Senator Hill to comment on the accusation from Cordovan, and she responded with this statement: ‘Senator Cordovan believes that I am a traitor because I do not trust President Ironwood. I do not trust this Project Remnant because I do not know what the full scale of the Project is. If she has any more evidence of this alleged treason, then she can present it to the Senate.’ We asked Senator Cordovan for a response. She has refused to answer.’

  
“What does this mean, Miss Hill,” Fiona asked as she handed Robyn her coffee.

“It means that we need to be careful. One wrong move is all it takes,” Robyn said before looking to the door, “Any word back?”

“Here,” Fiona said as she reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope. Handing it to Robyn, the older woman quickly opened it and read the contents.

“Let’s see… Miss Hill, we value your information on Montana… Every life you save… As payment for your actions and risks…” Robyn trailed off.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Robyn said as she handed the letter back to Fiona, “Hide it. I need to think of a response. But for now, I have a Senate meeting to attend to. Time to see what that old hag has as evidence against me,” Robyn said as the two walked out of her office.

_Queens, New York City_

_December 2nd, 2040_

_7:52 AM_

Ruby was standing in the center of a train cart, waiting for her stop when she heard the monitor say, ‘Arriving at Q46’.

“Finally,” Ruby muttered to herself.

As the train doors opened up, Ruby quickly jogged up the stairs leading out of the Main St & Melbourne Avenue subway line. Knowing the way, Ruby ran down Melbourne Avenue, past the T-intersection of Melbourne Avenue and 149th Street, and arrived at her destination. Signal High School, the same school that her parents went to.

Before she had a chance to proceed into the school, Ruby heard a familiar voice behind her, “Look out girls, .”

Ruby closed her eyes and clenched her fists as she turned to see Ciel Soleil, with her little posse behind her.

_Ciel Soleil: One of the most popular kids in school… and someone I once thought of as my friend._

"You know that was funny, Ciel. Did you think of that during your second or third micro botox?"

"Oh please, we both know that my face is far too good for that."

"Really? Cause I gotta say, you're lip's showing a bit of a botched operation," Ruby tapped her lip, causing a rather angry reaction.

"At least I don't have to wear the same clothes from yesterday. I mean, what is that trash hoodie? Did you borrow it from your mom? Oh, I’m sorry, too soon?”

Ruby’s emotion changed from smug to depressed as Ciel gave a quick smirk, "Got nothing to say? Figured.”

As the girls walked past Ruby, most of them made an effort to step into her, laughing as the girl stood still, taking every hit head on. When the last of the girls passed her, Ruby released a pent up exhale before walking towards the school. As she walked up the steps to the front entrance of the school, the first bell rang.

"Oh shit," Ruby said as she quickly ran up the staircase to get to her first class.

Clashing and pushing against the other students that were rushing towards their classes, Ruby had made it into the hallway of the second floor. As she took another step, a fellow student ran into Ruby and knocked her down. Opening her eyes, Ruby realized that all of her papers were out of her bag onto the floor.

“Goddamn it…" Ruby muttered to herself as she began to grab papers like crazy. After a few seconds of collecting her writings, she saw someone standing in front of her pile.

"Oh crap, I am so sorry. Let me help."

Ruby saw the person kneel down to help Ruby gather her papers. He had shaggy blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He had brown sneakers, a pair of blue denim jeans, a black hoodie with some old joke about the old game 'Fortnite.' With the two of them working together, all of the papers were gathered in a matter of seconds.

"Thanks," Ruby said as she stood up.

"It was no problem."

"Do I know you? You seem familiar."

“Oh yeah, I’m Jaune Arc," Jaune said as he extended a hand, “We were in the debate class together last semester.”

"Oh right! How could I forget that?”

"Yeah, your name is Ruby, right?"

“Ruby Rose," Ruby replied as she shook Jaune’s hand, “Yeah, I remember you made a case in defense of the Grimm.”

“Jaune Arc v. The Class. I probably should have expected that trip to the office from a mile away.”

"Hey, those were some very valid points about the Grimm's benefits to society. It’s not your fault that Ms. Peach is a bitch.”

Jaune gave a small chuckle, ”Yeah, well, what am I gonna do I guess…”

Unfortunately for the two, their moment was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the school bell.

"Uh, I gotta go! Bye," Ruby quickly ran to her classroom, leaving Jaune in the hall.

As he was about to walk to his class, he saw something on the ground.

Meanwhile, Ruby managed to get inside the class before the bell finished. Glad that she didn’t miss her class, Ruby walked to her desk and sat down. Unfortunately for Ruby, she was quickly reunited with Ciel and the others.

"Hey Ciel, how's your FALL class going?"

"Great, I just got back from a nice TRIP."

Ruby decided that not retaliating was the best course of action for her as she was too tired to try and fight them. Luckily, her torture was not long as everyone stopped talking once the teacher walked in and said, "Good morning, class."

"Good morning Ms. Goodwitch," The entire class said.

"Now, before we begin, I wish to address the recent news regarding the attack on an Institution.”

This news caused whispers among the students.

“Another one?”

“How?”

“I know that some of you have probably heard about the recent events in Montana, so I decided that today's lesson will be on the origin of Grimm. Now, who can tell me where Grimm originate from?"

Ciel raised her hand with a smug grin on her face. Ms. Goodwitch sighed, knowing that she was not going to like Ciel's answer.

“Ciel.”

"It's pretty obvious that Grimm is nothing more than disgusting vermin who crawled out of their little holes to terrorize us normal folks."

All of Ciel's posse and most of the class began laughing at her answer, while Ms. Goodwitch, a small handful, meaning only Ruby, only stared at her.

"You know if you remove half the amount of time it takes you to put on makeup and put it into studying, you might just have an average grade in this class, Miss Soleil."

The class made their various noises as Ciel just rolled her eyes at Ms. Goodwitch's response. Taking this opportunity, Ruby decided to shift the mood and raised her hand.

"Ruby."

"Grimm is a term that is used for individuals who can perform acts of magic."

"Correct. Now, who can tell me about the first report of someone showing these magical abilities?"

Before anyone else could raise their hand, Ruby was quick on the draw. Seeing no one else raising their hand, Goodwitch said, "I guess that it is Ruby again."

"In October 2034, a college student, by the name of Shane McKinnon, was recorded shooting flames out of his hands at cars and at police officers who were trying to detain him. After a conflict between the student and officers that lasted ten minutes, the authorities killed the student. Other recordings show him reaching his hand towards a flaming car and used the Latin term for fire. Seconds later, the flames were sucked from the car, showing the world how Grimm use their magic."

"Correct. Now, who can tell me how we can identify someone who can perform magic?"

Ruby raised her hand yet again.

"Ruby is on a roll today. Go ahead, Ruby."

"People who perform magic have a visual alteration to their eyes."

"And please inform the rest of the class what happens to their eyes?"

"Their eyes turn pitch black with blood-red irises and veins around the eye sockets."

"If you would Ruby, please provide the class with an example of a spell."

_Always go with the spell you know won’t work._

"One example would be the spell 'Lumen' or Light spell. When a Grimm throws sand and says the spell, the sand turns into a blinding light that lasts about twelve seconds. One recorded event with this spell is when a Grimm in Missouri threw sand into the air and used the spell to blind the police to escape."

"Finally, Ruby, other than America, what are the four countries with reports of Grimm, and how have they responded to the issue?"

"The four countries that have reports of Grimm are America, Canada, Japan, and Russia. America and Russia have responded to the issue by detaining those with magic abilities and relocate them to maximum-security institutions. Unlike America and Russia, both Japan and Canada announced in 2035 and 2038 that they would not detain Grimm. Japan released a statement that these abilities can be used to better the people and the planet as a whole. Five years ago, Canada released a statement that any and all Grimm will be allowed to relocate to a new province that they have given to the hidden Grimm community known as Liberteria, which is based on the Latin term for freedom: Liberia. It was in Liberteria where the Grimm formed The Light, which is a controversial group of Grimm who have taken responsibility for the attacks on the Institutions.”

"Great work, as usual, Ruby. Perhaps you can tutor Ciel," Ms. Goodwitch said.

Smiling, Ruby took her seat and looked back at Ciel and her group, pleased with how she humiliated the girl.

"Now then, why don't we shift to how politics have shifted because of the Grimm."


	3. Secrets Revealed

As it had reached midday, the bell rang for lunchtime. Students were leaving in droves towards the cafeteria. While everyone was enjoying social interactions, Ruby sat at her desk and waited for everyone to leave. Her current teacher, Mr. Port, noticed this had become a pattern for Ruby.

"Was the lesson understandable today, Miss Rose," Mr. Port asked as he was cleaning the whiteboard.

"Yes, it was."

"That's good to hear. I fear that I sometimes drift from the main point of the lecture."

Ruby nodded as she continued to listen to the students outside. Hearing the noise from outside beginning to die down, Ruby packed up and began to walk towards the door.

"Miss Rose, might I ask you a question?"

"What is it, Mr. Port," Ruby asked from the doorway.

"Why is it that you do not leave when all the other students do?"

"I just don't like being around other people."

"Might I ask why?"

"That's personal."

"I see… forgive me; I only fear that if you keep yourself from interacting with the other students, you will not make any social skills."

"I interact with people in the class."

"Being graded to interact with someone is different from having genuine conversations. How many of your classmates are you friends with?"

Ruby decided not to answer his question, which provided Mr. Port with her answer.

"Miss Rose, you are a brilliant person. You remind me of your mother."

"You knew my mom?"

"Why, of course! I taught her, as well. Your mother got along with everyone in some way. She was talented, had a great sense of humor, and she always made friends with others. I do not wish to sound like I am ordering you to do something non-academically, just consider trying to be more social. Who knows, you might even meet your future partner," Port gave a small chuckle.

"Yes, Mr. Port."

From the movement of his bushy mustache, Ruby could tell that he was smiling, "Thank you for listening to an old man ramble. Now go and have a good lunch."

Ruby walked towards the cafeteria with Mr. Port's words of wisdom in her mind.

_ Maybe if I were human, there would be a chance. _

Before Ruby became too wrapped up in her thoughts, she saw that she was now outside of the cafeteria with a line still going outside.

Walking into line, Ruby put her earphones in and listened to her music.

_ Even if I was human, I doubt that I would have been friends with anyone at my school. All they seem to talk about is how much they hate school and home at the same time, or whatever the new drug is the latest trend. Kind of hard to relate that to the daughter of a cop, let alone a lieutenant and head of a task force. _

Proceeding out of the line with her food, Ruby moved to her eating/hideout spot. Unbeknownst of her, Ruby was being followed.

Ruby's eating spot was always next to her upcoming class. The reason why she liked it here was that no one else was ever around. If for some reason, someone was around, Ruby would just find another location. Taking a seat on the floor outside of the classroom, Ruby pulled out her sketchpad and pencil. Opening up her pad, one could see multiple sketches of hands wielding different things. One showed a cell phone, and one showed a ball of light. These were all drawings of what Ruby has used to practice her spells.

Setting down her food and a pen in hand, Ruby began to draw the spell she used in the shower. Her hand was flat with a ring of water floating above her palm, followed by another hand with a similar ring formed into a ball of water. Ruby was so focused on her drawing; she did not hear the sound of someone walking up next to her.

"Nice drawing."

Ruby quickly shut her book and jumped up to turn to her "observer" to see…

"It's you," Ruby said, surprised to see Jaune.

"Yeah, I was just on my way to grab something from my locker, and I saw you sitting here alone," Jaune said as he looked at her sketchpad, "What was that drawing of?"

'Crap,' Ruby thought to herself…

"It's something for my art class."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I am supposed to draw something that is meant to represent humanity's desire for something that they don't have."

"Interesting. Who is your art teacher?"

"Mr. Pine."

"Mr. Pine? Never heard of him."

"Well, he is a new teacher."

"Well, I won't keep you from drawing whatever it is that you just said, so I am going to keep going. See you around."

As Jaune walked past Ruby, Ruby felt something familiar from Jaune. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something told Ruby that he was different.

_ December 2nd, 2040 _

_ 2:35 PM _

Taiyang was sitting in his office, typing out a draft, showing the number of arrests against the number of Grimm deaths in the last few months.

Hearing a knock, Taiyang looked to see his girlfriend, Raven, walk in with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Figured that you could use this," Raven said as she looked at the computer, "What are our numbers last month?"

"More deaths than arrests… But look here, five weeks ago, there were only a handful of Grimm cases. Then ever since the G.G.B. was motioned for a vote, there has been a steady incline in missing Grimm suspected individuals and Grimm related crimes."

"Well, when they are about to make it legal to shoot you on sight, I would commit a crime too."

Taiyang looked to Raven to make a witty comment about that statement. But when Tai looked at Raven, he saw her. It may have been for a brief moment, but he did not see Raven, he saw Summer. She looked to him with the look a mother would give to her wounded child and said, "Tai."

"What," Tai asked as he rubbed his eyes. Looking again, Raven was there, and Summer was gone once again.

"I asked if you need any help with the paperwork."

"Oh… no, thank you, though…"

Judging the way Tai had acted, Raven knew that he saw Summer again. Deciding not to make a scene while at work, Raven just said, "Let me know if you need anything, okay."

Before Taiyang had a chance to respond to Raven's offer of support, Qrow stood up and yelled, "We have 415H."

"Animal disturbance? Give it to the P.D. then."

"They say that their kid set the dog on fire with a spell."

Taiyang sighed and set his pen down, "Okay. Get geared up, Qrow."

Raven was surprised at Tai's request, "Are you sure that we shouldn't we send Phillips or Derek? This doesn't seem like work that--"

"I just need some air, okay," Tai said, "Look, about what you said--"

"Don't worry; we can talk more after," Raven leaned in and pecked Taiyang on the cheek, "Now move your ass."

_ 2:50 PM _

The drive to the destination was quiet, with the exception of the chatter from the police radio. Qrow made the occasional glance to Taiyang, who just stared motionlessly ahead as he continued driving.

"I went to see her," Qrow said to Tai to break the silence.

"And?"

"…I don't know what I was expecting. Every time I go in, I expect something to happen. But, I just leave feeling regret."

There was another brief pause before Taiyang let out a sigh and said, "I… I saw her in my office, instead of Raven. It was brief, but she was definitely there…"

"Have you been talking to Dr. Leo?"

Taiyang shook his head, "Haven't been there for a couple of weeks."

"Tai, you promised Ruby that—"

"Even if I wanted to, I can't. The stress of the bill possibly making us lose our task force, and with Chief Schnee up our asses, I can't take any time off."

Before Qrow could respond to Taiyang's statement, Raven appeared through their earpieces and said, 'You are arriving at the destination.'

"Roger," Taiyang said, "So, Raven, what do we have?"

'Given the information, the Grimm is currently locked in his bedroom, located on the first door to the right. Be careful; it sounded like the family was still in shock when I spoke to them.'

"Pulling up now…" Taiyang said.

Once they had parked their police cruiser, Taiyang and Qrow got out of the car, guns set to single fire, and approached the house.

Taiyang walked up to the front door and knocked.

"What is that smell," Qrow gagged.

"Dog," Taiyang said as he touched his earpiece, "Raven, we are going to need a disposal team."

'Already en route to your location.'

The door opened, and the two task force members saw an older man, supposedly the father. His eyes showed that he was in shock as he stared blankly at the two officers as he asked, "You here for that little monster?"

"Yes, we're here for the Grimm," Qrow said with a clamped nose.

"He's in his room. Little bastard put up a fight, so we had to lock him away. His room is the first door on the right."

While Taiyang proceeded, Qrow took a moment to notice that there was blood on the father's shirt and knuckles.

"You got a problem," Qrow looked up at the man as the man seemed agitated.

Qrow took a step towards the man, clearly unfazed by the man's intimidation, "Not yet."

"Sergeant Rose."

Qrow walked away from the man, knowing full well where that blood came from.

Qrow and Taiyang stood on both sides of the door and counted down.

"3 2 1… now."

Taiyang opened the door, and the two officers walked in, guns trained on their clear target.

There was a clear fight in the room, blood on the floor, a glass picture frame broken and scratches against the wall. In the corner of the room was a boy. He was crying and hiding away from the world. He had clear bruises and cuts on various areas of his body, and when the door had opened, he looked at the two officers with those pure black and red eyes. He was the target.

Looking towards the two officers, he sniffled, "It… It was an accident…"

Qrow and Taiyang lowered their weapons and looked at one another.

"How do you want to approach this one," Taiyang asked.

Qrow put his gun away and slowly approached the child, "Hey kid, my name is Qrow."

"Qrow?"

"Yeah, what's your name?"

"O…Oscar."

"That's a neat name, look, kid, I am gonna be honest, you did something pretty bad," Qrow said as he took another step.

"W-W-Where's Zwei?"

"Zwei went away, but don't worry; he is okay now. You see, your parents called us, and now we are going to take you to a place that can help you."

"You promise?"

Now, Qrow was right next to Oscar, "I promise."

Qrow extended his hand to Oscar and hoped that it worked.

Oscar stared at Qrow's hand and took it.

"Now, Oscar, I am gonna need you to put these on," Qrow said as he pulled out graphene handcuffs.

Oscar extended his hands, and Qrow put the handcuffs on, which upon contact immediately latched onto the flesh.

Qrow and Oscar walked out of the room with Taiyang behind them. As they walked past the family room, Oscar looks in to see the smoke coming towards the door.

"Mom? Dad?"

There was no response from either of the parents, and Oscar looked down, "It was an accident…"

As the three proceeded out of the house and towards the car, neighbors were looking to see what was going on. Upon seeing the two G.D.T.F officers with the child, they seemed to get noticeably agitated and screamed, "FREAK!"

"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"

Qrow picked up the pace and helped Oscar into the car.

"FUCKING DIE!"

Qrow shut the door and looked to Taiyang, "Target secured."

_ 1:45 PM _

Qrow and Taiyang completed the transport to the Institution. The giant building was shadowing the three from the sun as Qrow helped Oscar out of the car.

Oscar looked at the building and seemed scared, "This place is creepy…"

Qrow reassured the boy and said, "Don't worry. You won't be here for long."

As Taiyang watched Qrow escort Oscar towards the entrance, he looked to his right and saw Summer standing right on the sidewalk, clear as day and staring towards the street.

"Summer?"

Summer looked to him and said, "You cannot stop what is going to happen."

And just like that, Summer vanished. Taiyang shook his head and rubbed his eyes to hear Qrow behind him.

"Hey, Tai, come on."

Taiyang turned and followed Qrow towards the entryway of the Institution, where a lone doctor stood just in front of, waiting for the three to approach her.

"Dr. Grey, we have another Grimm for you."

"Yes, I can see that… ooh, I can't wait to see what makes you tick. If you will follow me this way," Dr. Grey said as she escorted Oscar into the Institution. As the two proceeded inside, Oscar looked back at Qrow before walking inside.

Once the two entered, the large steel doors lowered and sealed tightly, sealing that child away with the "good doctor."

"You okay," Qrow asked.

"Yeah… let's go back to the precinct. We have paperwork to do," Taiyang said.

3 _ :50 PM _

The final bell had run, and it was time for everyone to go home. Ruby grabbed her bag and began to walk out of the classroom. The last class was Ruby's least favorite class: English. Tonight's assignment was to prepare for an upcoming test by reading the last ten chapters of her book. Pulling out her phone, Ruby was about to put her earphones in when someone grabbed her phone. It was Ciel, and she was now protected from Ruby by her group of friends.

"Looking for something?" Ciel laughed as she stared at the phone, "Why do you even have this old garbage, anyway?"

"Ciel, give that back right now," Ruby said with anger in her voice.

"Hmm… should I give it back to her girls?" Ciel asked one of the posse members behind her.

"I don't know, Ciel, her phone looks really filthy."

"Really? Then perhaps we should be nice and wash it for her."

Ruby's eyes widened as she knew what that meant.

"Let's go!" Ciel said as she and the other girls ran off.

"Hey!" Ruby said as she chased after them.

Following the girls, Ruby ran down the stairs, through a hallway, and into the bathroom that the girls ran into. Upon entering, she was grabbed by two of Ciel's girls and held back while Ciel stood beside an open bathroom stall.

"So, what do you think girls, should we clean Ruby's phone for her?"

Ruby's eyes were wide as she begged Ciel, "Ciel, please…"

"I think that she just told you to please wash it, Ciel."

"Well, if she wants us to," Ciel shrugged before she turned and threw the phone out of Ruby's view, but the sound of the phone splashing into the toilet caused Ruby's heart to sink.

Running into the stall, Ruby saw her mother's phone, one of the last few things that she had left of Summer Rose, floating in the toilet.

"Come on, girls. I think a certain someone has some fishing to do."

Ruby listened as the girls laughed their way out of the bathroom as she quickly rolled up her sleeve and reached into the toilet. She was very quick to pull the phone out and walk out of the stall and to the sink.

"Shit…"

Ruby pressed the home button and saw that nothing happened. Grabbing a few paper towels, she pressed it against the phone and felt some of the water had been absorbed. But it wasn't enough. Removing the paper towels, Ruby tried to start her phone again, only for nothing to happen.

"Shit. Shit! SHIT!"

Ruby looked to the door before looking back at her phone.

_ I wish that I had waited. I wish that I had actually thought about how stupid I was being for doing this in public. _

Ruby aimed her hand at her phone and whispered, " _ Aqua _ ."

Ruby watched water droplets trapped within the phone, slowly seeped through the openings of the phone, and flew towards her hand.

As she kept looking back at the door, Ruby kept using the spell until every last drop of the water escaped her phone. When she knew that all of the water was out of the phone, Ruby whipped her hand to the right, sending the water shooting to the wall, but she did not care.

Ruby pressed the home button again, hoping that it was going to turn on. Sadly, that was not the case. Deciding to try and charge it quickly, Ruby looked to her left and saw an outlet and aimed her open hand towards it.

" _ Parvum crimen _ ," She whispered.

The outlet sparked, and the lights flickered for a brief moment as very small lines of electricity began to fly towards Ruby's hand. The sight of the spell working would have made Ruby happy had she not been terrified by the thought of being caught. Needing only a small amount of electricity to restart her phone, Ruby slowly closed her fingers like a pair of scissors, cutting off the transfer of energy from the outlet. Ruby watched as the electricity wrapped around her hand like tentacles from an octopus. Extending only her index finger, she watched as a single thread of electricity crawled up to the tip of her finger and stayed there.

Placing her finger in the charging port of the phone, Ruby saw all of the electricity on her hand flow into her phone. As soon as the electricity made contact with the charging port, Ruby saw the phone light up, forming a smile on Ruby's face.

Once she felt that she had put enough energy into her phone, Ruby retracted her hand with electricity still wrapped around her hand.

"Shit," Ruby said as she thought of how to disperse of the electricity. Having little experience with electricity, Ruby only knew how to extract electricity and use it but did not know how to extinguish it.

"Maybe if I—" Ruby extended her hand, and suddenly the remaining electricity shot right at the wall, putting a small hole in the wall.

As the electricity made contact, it was not the damage she made that caused Ruby to scream. It was the sight of Jaune standing a foot next to the damage.

"Well… good thing I wasn't standing right there."

"Jaune?! What are you doing here?"

"I was going to use the bathroom," Jaune pushed the door closed a bit more, showing the men's restroom sign on the door.

'Ciel…' Ruby thought to herself as she looked at the mirror. Upon making eye contact with herself, Ruby realized that her eyes were still Grimm.

"Well, I uh- I was just trying to fix my phone, and it just shorted out in front of me," Ruby said as she turned around, trying to think of how to talk her way out of this situation.

Jaune took a step towards Ruby, "Ruby—"

"It just flew out. I am lucky to be alive."

"Ruby."

"And not to mention—"

"Ruby!" Jaune shouted, causing Ruby to finally stop talking, "Even if I didn't see you just push the electricity into your phone, I wouldn't have believed you because…"

Jaune motioned to his eyes.

'Shit…' Ruby thought to herself.

Then she realized something, "Wait a minute. Why aren't you afraid of me or screaming that I should be locked up and die?"

"Heh… No, I guess I'm not." He said as he took another step towards Ruby.

Ruby took a step back, quickly thinking of her homeschooled training her father and uncle taught her, hoping that he was not going to be stupid enough to actually try and attack a cop's daughter. However, Jaune looked to his left and placed his palm on the same outlet that Ruby had used for her spell.

"What're you—"

" _ Parvum crimen _ ."

Ruby watched in shock as Jaune's eyes turned black and red as the outlet sparked, and electricity began to wrap around Jaune's hand. Pulling away from the outlet, Jaune extended his index finger, the electricity slithered up to the tip of his finger, just as it did with Ruby.

"So… you're…"

"As much of a Grimm as you are," Jaune said as he opened his hand, the electricity levitating and morphing into a ball before it began to dissipate.

Jaune and Ruby used the cloaking spell, reverting their eyes to normal, and the lie covered up once more.

Before Ruby had a chance to ask her newly founded Grimm friend about anything, Ruby's phone buzzed, "Oh crap, I am going to miss my ride."

RUby ran to the counter and grabbed her phone, "Well, it was great meeting you again and all. But I should get going."

"Ruby."

"And look, I am very happy that you're… like me. But seriously, I have to go."

"The G.G.B. is going to pass."

That caused Ruby to freeze in her tracks as she made it to the doorframe.

"What?" She asked, turning to Jaune.

Jaune pulled out his phone and unlocked it before handing it to Ruby.

"What is it," Ruby asked.

"Just watch."

'Before we even had a chance to have our morning coffee, the Senate announced a vote to call for the execution for the Grimm. This vote has been in discussion for three months and appears to have to progress behind closed doors and is set for a very one-sided vote. This bill calls for mandatory testing of all U.S. citizens, and any who are found to be Grimm will be executed. The vote is set to take place within the next three days as military checkpoints have already begun preparations in areas like San Francisco, Los Angelos, New York City, and other major cities.'

Ruby backed up until she hit the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the bathroom floor.

"This is a nightmare… isn't it?"

"No… it's not."

"…Home. I have to get home." Ruby said, feeling like she was living in a nightmare she was bound to wake up from at any moment.

Walking up to the door, Ruby opened it and took two steps down the hall when Jaune yelled, "They are going to kill us, Ruby!"

Ruby froze where she stood, feeling that anxiety return as she continued to hear Jaune's speech.

"That bill is going to pass, and they are going to slaughter every last Grimm in the country. You heard that video, they're already setting up checkpoints in New York as the vote has already been passed."

"And what do you expect me to do?"

"I am not expecting you to do anything except survive."

"What are you talk—"

"I'm leaving."

"What do you mean you're leaving?"

"I got into contact with a group of The Light in Burlington, and they agreed to help me get across the border and take me to Liberteria."

"Well… that's good for you…" Ruby said.

"You should come with me."

His sudden request surprised Ruby, "What? Why would I do that?"

"Ruby—"

"You expect me to just go with someone I don't even know across three states to meet with a group of reported terrorists… to try and cross the border. That is like winning the 'get shot on sight' bingo."

"Staying here would result in the same 'win' Ruby."

Ruby was unable to think of a response. He was right.

"Look, I was not expecting you to say yes right away. Here, let me give you something in case you change your mind."

Ruby watched Jaune as he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen to write something down and handed it to Ruby.

"Take it," He said.

Ruby grabbed the paper and read its contents.

"What is this?"

"It's the address to a park near my house. I am going to pack and prepare for the trip and will be at that spot at 9:15. Then, I will stay for only fifteen minutes. If you are not there by then, I will be gone from this city," Jaune turned to walk away from Ruby. Before he walked out of her view, Jaune looked to Ruby and said, "You can try to hide all you want, but one day you will mess up… we all do eventually."

Jaune turned and nodded to Ruby before walking around the corner.

"…What am I going to do?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, Ruby. What are you going to do?"

Hearing that familiar voice sent chills down Ruby's spine as she turned around to see Ciel and her posse appear from a hallway corner, with Ciel holding her phone and filming Ruby, "We were going to tease you for being in the boy's room but after hearing all of that garbage… oh, how it got so much better."

"Ciel—"

"What will dear old daddy think when his daughter is one of those disgusting creatures?"

"Ciel, you don't want to do this," Ruby said.

"Why don't we give dear old dad a call," Ciel asked as she put the phone to her ear.

And then it happened.

Ruby raised her hand straight at Ciel, who was unfazed by it, "Oh? Are you going to attack me now, you pathetic little…"

" _ Electrica _ ."

Suddenly the phone began to spark out right next to Ciel's head, causing her to scream and throw the phone to the ground. As soon as the phone made contact with the ground, the screen cracked open, and the small collection of electricity flew to Ruby's hand, her eyes black and red and filled with anger. Now they were at Ruby's mercy.

_ 4:25 PM _

"So how did the 415H go?"

"Qrow took care of it."

"Do you still want to go out tonight," Raven asked.

"You have no idea," Taiyang smiled.

"Are you sure that Ruby will be okay all by herself?"

"She can handle anything. She's a Rose and a Xiao Long."

4:27 PM

"No, Ruby, please," Ciel begged as she fell to her knees as Ruby slowly moved towards her with her hand aimed directly at her former friend.

_ I wanted to do it. God knows how badly I wanted to just send that bolt right at her. But something stayed my hand. Maybe it was that little bit of sympathy I had for her. But whatever it was made me stay my hand. _

Ruby shifted her arm to the right and released, sending the electricity into the wall. 

Ciel shrieked as she expected the worst, but slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened. Realizing that she was allowed to go, she stood up and screamed, "Y-You're a freak, Rose. A freak!"

After that, Ciel ran off and with Ruby's secret revealed.

"…What have I done…"

_ Do you know that moment when you feel like you have made one of the biggest mistakes of your life? That was how I was feeling at that moment. And I was just starting down a long road of anxiety. _


	4. Runaway

_ December 2nd, 2040 _

_ 6:08 PM _

_ There was this old movie that my dad showed me. It was about these four friends who go to Las Vegas for a bachelor's party. The next day, they wake up, and one of them is missing and a ton of other things that make the viewer wonder, "What the hell happened? And how did I get to this moment?" Well, for me, that feeling felt like it was quintupled as I found myself running as fast as I could along the sidewalk. _

Ruby was running as if her life depended on it. Which, in a way, it did now. She turned the corner so fast, she slipped on the asphalt and fell to the ground. Sitting up, she felt the sting on her hands and saw that they were scraped up from sliding. Her heart was at around 112 BPM, and she felt like she was going to just pass out from hyperventilating.

"Miss, are you okay?"

Ruby looked up to see an older woman looking at her and offering Ruby a hand up. However, instead of taking the woman's hand, Ruby stood up and just continued running.

'Nothing mattered except getting home,' she thought to herself.

Making one last turn, Ruby could see her house, and she felt a sense of hope.

As if running through that door would put things back to the way things were. 

Running up the steps and through the quickly opened the door, Ruby finally collapsed against the door, but the feeling was still there.

'Miss Rose, are you feeling okay? Your heart rate is forty beats above your average heart rate.'

But Ruby simply ignored Penny as she slowly stood up and walked past the machine, causing the android to simulate concern towards her owner.

'Miss Rose, shall I get you a cup of coffee?'

Walking inside her room, Ruby slammed her door shut and locked it. Once she did both, she felt everything hit her all at once again. Feeling her knees give out, Ruby fell against her door and started crying. Looking towards her bedside table, she saw the photo of her mother staring at her.

"What am I going to do…" Ruby said to herself as she wiped the tears from her face.

As she placed her other hand down, she heard the crinkling of paper in her pocket. Reaching into that pocket, Ruby pulled out the piece of paper that Jaune had given to her and stared at it.

'You can try to hide all you want, but one day you will mess up… we all do eventually.'

Jaune's words echoed in Ruby's head, and the longer she stared at the paper, the louder the voice got until she put the paper back into her pocket just so that she could get some silence.

_ As I sat there, I considered a lot of things. Some were simply out of desperation. Some were just ways of looking for an easy way out of all of this… I even considered... well, let's just keep going. Was this fate that I was caught, or was it just incredibly shitty luck? …I had to leave. It was the only option. But could I trust Jaune? He seemed like he had a plan set up. _

_ I looked over and stared at mom's picture again, hoping somehow a picture of my dead mom would have the answers that I needed. _

A sudden knock behind her nearly gave Ruby a heart attack.

"Who is it?" Ruby asked.

'Miss Rose, it is me.'

"Jesus, Penny, you gave me a heart attack."

' If you are in the middle of having a heart attack, I shall call—'

"I just have a lot on my mind, Penny," Ruby snapped.

There was a brief silence before Ruby said, "I'm sorry, Penny. Something happened at school, and I just... want to be alone right now."

'Very well, I shall return to my primary duties.'

As Penny walked away, Ruby sat down on her bed and faced the mirror and saw what she had become. Her eyes were irritated, the color on her face drained, and tears were strolling down her cheeks.

Hearing the sound of the front door opening, Ruby felt her heart sink.

"Ruby, are you here," She heard her father call out.

'Maybe he doesn't know yet,' Ruby wiped her eyes, composed herself once again, and opened the door.

"Hey, dad!"

"Raven and I are back from our shifts."

'He doesn't know. Yet…' Ruby sighed in relief. Opening her door, Ruby walked out to meet her father and his girlfriend.

"Hey guys," Ruby said as she walked out into the entryway.

"Oh my god, Ruby, are you okay," Raven asked.

"Huh?"

"Ruby, you look awful. And your hands! Did something happen at school?" Her father asked.

"What? Oh, you mean this? Yeah, sorry, I was just a little overwhelmed by homework and finals and tripped on the way back here. Luckily it was just a scrape."

"Oh, I know that feeling, kid. Senior year, my teacher told us that our final was that Friday, and I looked the same way," Raven said.

"Penny, can you take care of Ruby's hands?"

'Yes sir,' Penny said as it walked over to grab the required equipment.

"So Raven, if you're here, does that mean you guys are going out tonight?"

"Look at you, using your little detective skills. Yes, we were heading out to dinner. I had assumed that Taiyang told you already, but I guess that he wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, we all have a lot on our plate this month. Hopefully, we can just get through it," Taiyang said, "Unless… Ruby, would you like to come with us?"

_ Dad… I wish that this never happened. I wish that I could turn back time and change what happened. I wish… I wish that what happened between us after that night never existed. I am so sorry. _

"Sorry, but I have a test coming up, and I need to study for it. Next time though."

"Okay, yeah, no problem… well, in that case, we will be heading out then. I just need to grab a jacket from my room, and we will take off," Taiyang said as he walked towards his room, leaving Ruby and Raven alone.

"Hey, Ruby, can I give you some advice," Raven asked.

"Um, sure?"

"When you lie, you need not look like you're lying."

"What?"

"Well… I mean, it's obvious what you're hiding."

"H-How did you know?" Ruby asked, anxiety rising like a rocket.

"It's the eyes."

'RED FLAG RED FLAG'

"My eyes?"

"Yeah, and you know what? It's normal."

'…Wait for what now?'

"What?"

"I know I am coming from a different time, but I have also had my fair share of crushes in high school."

Now knowing what exactly Raven thought she was hinting at, Ruby played along for her safety.

"Thanks… I love dad, but I just don't want to go through the whole 'plenty of fish in the sea' lecture from him. Last time I did it, he told me everything that happened leading up to him asking mom out. It was so boring."

"Well, who is it?"

'Jeez, dad, how long does it take to find a jacket?'

"His name is Jaune, and he seems nice, but he says that he wants to move to Canada after he graduates, and I am just… I don't know."

"Well, you have it easy. One time I was on my way to tell someone how I feel after I finally built up the courage to ask, and he asked someone else out that day. I remember I just ran home and cried my eyes out."

"Is there any advice you have for me?"

"Honestly? Finding someone you care about is just a gut feeling. As my father used to say, 'an opportunity is like food. If you wait too long, it will mold and not be edible.' So in your case with this Jaune guy, if you think that you like him and can trust him, I say go for it while you have the chance," Raven winked.

_ Raven. I remember when you showed up for the first time at my house. Even if we only knew each other for a few months, I will treasure the time that we spent together. I know that you love my father and would do anything for him… So all that I ask is that you please, please look after him. He is going to need it when I'm gone. _

"Okay, I got my jacket. Wait, what did I miss?" Taiyang asked as he walked into the entryway.

"Oh, I was just giving some advice to Ruby. Did it help?"

"Yeah…I think so."

"Well, come on, we should get going. This place I have in mind fills up like crazy. Ruby, last chance to tag along…"

"Yeah, sorry, but I have to get started on my homework. Besides, I don't think a restaurant can handle two Xiao Longs, eh dad?"

"Hah! I should invite Qrow, the three of us would be unstoppable." Taiyang said, "We will be back around nine, so don't study too hard, okay?"

"I won't, I promise."

As the two opened the door and proceeded down the steps, Ruby walked out after them.

"Wait!" Ruby said.

As Taiyang turned back to look at the door, Ruby hugged her father tightly.

"Whoa! Ruby, you okay?"

Ruby did not want to let go. She did not care that it was beginning to snow or that it was freezing. Instead, she wished that the world would just explode at that very moment. She continued to cling onto her father's brown coat as she felt tears begin to form in her eyes.

"Ruby?"

"I just love you, dad."

"Well, I love you too, Ruby," Taiyang chuckled.

Ruby let go of her father and walked back up to the house. Watching as the two got into Taiyang's care, Ruby waved one last time to them as they drove off.

'Goodness me! Miss Rose, I highly recommend that you return indoors. You are not properly dressed for the weather outside. You will catch a cold,' Penny said, 'I also have some cotton balls and rubbing alcohol for you if you still wish for them.'

Ruby walked back inside and shut the door.

'Miss Rose? Do you wish to be treated for your injuries?'

"No, Penny… I think I am just going to go back to my room. I don't want to be disturbed," Ruby said as she proceeded back to her room.

'As you wish, Miss Rose.'

Upon entering her bedroom, Ruby wanted to scream. Every fiber in her being wanted to just explode in various emotions. But ultimately, the overall feeling that she felt was sadness.

Sitting on her bed, Ruby had finished crying for what felt like the hundredth time. Looking over to a photo of her late mother on her bedside table, Ruby grabbed the frame and stared at the picture.

_ I'm sorry, mom. I am sorry that I am not human like you and dad. I'm so sorry... _

'Finding someone you care about is just a gut feeling. As my father used to say, if you have a good feeling about someone, make the first move. So in your case with this Jaune guy, if you think that you like him and can trust him, I say go for it while you have the chance,'

_ I... I had to go. I knew what I had to do. _

Ruby closed her eyes, kissed the picture before she set the frame back down on her bedside table. 

_ 7:44 PM _

Ruby set her bag on her bed. It was nearly full of the essentials that Ruby needed. She was just missing one last thing. Reaching under the comforter and feeling the hard edge of the translation book, Ruby pulled it out and placed it under everything else in her bag and zipped it up.

'Now for tonight…' Ruby thought to herself.

_ 8:12 PM _

Ruby stared at herself in the mirror, wearing a pair of black denim jeans, a white tank top with a black shirt to cover, her red hoodie again, and a second jacket for the cold weather.

This was it… Ruby had her bag packed. She was dressed, and she ready to go. Looking at the clock now, she had one hour. Looking to the right of the clock, she saw the photo of her mother once more. Walking up to the picture frame, Ruby picked it up and smashed it against the corner. Pulling out the photo, Ruby placed the photo of her mother inside of her right breast pocket.

Pulling the paper that Jaune gave her out of her previous pants pocket, Ruby walked up to her computer and typed the address into the maps application on her laptop.

'It's too far on foot, and even if it wasn't, it could get pretty dangerous out there at night.'

Ruby then tried looking at the trains and saw that even if she took the next train that left in three minutes, it is again the issue with the people at night. That left one option.

Ruby opened her transportation app, InstaCab Services. Typing the address that the paper had in, Ruby clicked 'confirm payment.'

'Thank you for your purchase! Your vehicle will arrive in five minutes.'

Ruby wrapped her bag around her shoulders and proceeded out into the entryway. Making it into the kitchen/entryway area, Ruby cursed under her breath as she was met face to face with Penny, who was cleaning the hallway.

'Miss Rose, where are you going?'

"I'm going out, Penny."

'My scanners indicate that you have multiple items of suspicion, Miss Rose.'

"Penny—"

'One of the items that I have scanned appears to be a form of literature that is illegal. My calculations determine that you are trying to run away from this establishment, and that is something that I cannot allow. Please remain in my sight while I will report this to Master Xiao Long.'

Upon hearing that, Ruby quickly aimed her hand at her mother figure and, without any hesitation, said, " _ Electrica _ ."

Ruby watched as Penny's body short-circuited, its eyes blinked on and off, its appendages twisting in circles before it collapsed into a pile, multiple currents of electricity flying towards Ruby's hand. Ruby stood in the entryway, her Grimm eyes flowing with tears, Ruby could do nothing but hear Penny say in her more mechanical, 'M-M-M-Miss Rose-e-e? W-W-Why…'

And with those final words, Penny's eyes flickered one more time before shutting off completely.

Ruby fell to the ground, her tears flowing down the sides of her face as she muttered, "I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Feeling a buzz on her phone, Ruby pulled it out and read the notification.

'Your vehicle has arrived and shall depart in five minutes to the destination.'

Ruby wiped her eyes once more and picked her bag back up, continuously apologizing to the android. Opening the door, Ruby saw the InstaCab was waiting for her on the street. Making one last glance inside, Ruby walked out into the snow with her bag strapped tightly to her back.

'Welcome, please watch your step.'

Ruby sat down in the cab, and the doors locked before it took off towards its destination.


	5. Secrets Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow, Taiyang, and Raven are called in to Chief Schnee's office late at night to discuss Ruby's secret. Quick to deny it, the brothers go to and get Ruby to discover that she is already gone.

_ December 2nd, 2040 _

_ 7:35 PM _

Qrow was sitting in his family room, drinking a shot of bourbon to forget what had occurred earlier after the events that occurred earlier that day. The screams of those people as they saw a child walking out in cuffs... Qrow had another drink as his phone rang on the table next to him.

"This is Qrow Rose-"

'Branwen!'

Qrow backed away from the sudden shouting of police chief Jaques Schnee.

"Well, it is good to hear your voice, chief," Qrow said sarcastically, "How can I help you?"

'GET ASS DOWN HERE NOW!'

"What happened n- hello," Qrow looked at his phone to see that the police chief had already hung up.

Qrow sighed as he got out of bed and got dressed.

'Wonder what stick is up his ass this time…'

_ 8:00 PM _

"If you will let me explain—" Qrow said with his arms waving, trying to calm Chief Schnee down.

"I don't need an explanation from you, Sergeant. What I need if for you to answer the goddamn question."

"No. That is my answer. No, she isn't."

The door opened, and Qrow saw Taiyang and Raven enter, still wearing their dinner outfits.

"What is going on, chief," Taiyang asked.

"Oh good, the entire family is here. Now, Sergeant Rose, would you please tell Lieutenant Long why I have asked you to come here."

"He's been screaming at me for the last fifteen minutes, asking how long I've known that Ruby is a Grimm."

"What?"

"I was enjoying my day off with my wife. We went to have lunch together and got a call from our daughter for the first time since she's been transferred to Afghanistan. But my day took a turn when I got a call from Mr. Soleil. He started screaming and threatening to sue the police department after his daughter came home, screaming that your daughter, lieutenant, almost killed her."

"This has to be some sort of mistake," Taiyang said.

"I have been trying to tell him that, but he isn't listening."

"I have four witnesses saying otherwise."

"And I have been telling you, chief, that Ruby has been bullied by Ciel ever since elementary school. All of this is probably just some prank that Ciel thought of."

"Well, if you are so sure about it, then go get Miss Rose and bring her here. Officer Branwen, go prepare a Grimm test."

Raven took a step forward, "Sir, I—"

"That was not a question, Branwen. It was an order."

Raven looked at Taiyang and Qrow before nodding to chief Schnee and walking away to prepare a Grimm test for Ruby. As she left, Schnee straightened up and sighed.

"Fucking hell... You better be right, Sergeant Rose, or else it is all of our asses."

"I know I am, sir."

"Fine, then bring her back. But if it turns out that she is a Grimm, I expect you two to do your jobs. Can I trust you two to do your duties?"

"Sir, yes sir," The two said.

"Good. Now bring her here, and we can get this done quickly."

Taiyang and Qrow proceeded out of the office.

"C'mon, let's get her and just get this done," Qrow said as he and Taiyang turned the corner.

But as they turned the corner, Taiyang saw Qrow standing in the hall directly in front of him and Qrow.

_ "You cannot stop what has begun…" _

"What?"

"I said let's just get this done," Qrow said as he stood right where Summer was standing.

"Right…"

_ 8:24 PM _

There was an awkward silence between the brothers as they sped towards Taiyang's house. Qrow looked to his brother and chuckled, "This reminds me of the time that Ruby stole your extendable baton to show off to her class. Remember that?"

"…"

"Relax, Tai. This is just going to be some prank."

"I don't think so..."

"What do you mean?"

"When Raven and I arrived at home, Ruby seemed as though she was scared about something. Plus, her hands were scraped."

"Tai… think about what you are saying."

"It can't be a coincidence, Qrow…"

"Look, this week is stressful for everyone. Let's just call Ruby, tell her we need her to come down to the precinct to answer a question or two, she does the test, and then we grab some milkshakes on the way home and forget about all of this."

"Yeah… okay."

The two brothers lied to one another. They knew the truth. They just did not want to admit it. Pulling up to the house, Taiyang and Qrow walked up to the door. Taiyang opened the door to see Penny on the ground, destroyed.

"Oh my god…" Qrow said as he pulled out his pistol.

"RUBY?!" Taiyang asked, pulling out his pistol as well.

Nothing.

"Search the house. I'll try and access Penny's recordings," Taiyang said as he walked up to Penny.

Qrow nodded and proceeded to search the house. Opening the bathroom door, Qrow saw Ruby's stuff was missing.

"I count one toothbrush and toothpaste missing in the bathroom."

Moving towards Ruby's room, Qrow hesitantly opened the door and barged inside.

"Tai, get in here!"

Taiyang ran inside to see what Qrow saw the room. Drawers were open. The closet was open. Ruby...

"She's gone…"

Taiyang looked towards the bedside table and saw the broken picture frame on the floor. Walking up to the frame, Tai picked it up and noticed that the photo of Summer was missing.

"She ran…" Taiyang said.

"She can't have gotten far."

"Right. Let's go see Penny's recording."

The two walked back into the kitchen and used a cable that Penny came with and manually plugged her into the wall. Within seconds, Penny had woken up and seemed very concerned.

'Miss Rose, I— oh, Master Xiao Long and Mister Rose, something terrible has happened with Miss Rose.'

"We know. Access your recordings to the last interaction that you had with Ruby."

Penny quickly projected an image of Ruby.

_ 'Miss Rose, where are you going?' _

_ 'I'm just going out, Penny.' _

_ 'My scanners indicate that you have multiple items of suspicion, Miss Ruby.' _

_ 'Penny—' _

_ 'I am currently scanning items of apparel, hygienic supplies, and a form of literature that was denounced illegal in the last seven years. My calculations suspect that you are trying to run away from this establishment, and that is something that I cannot allow. I will report this to Master Xiao Long.' _

_ "Electrica." _

The brothers watched in horror and disbelief as Ruby's eyes changed to that of a Grimm.

Qrow sighed, "That's enough, Penny..."

Taiyang walked away from the video and placed a hand over his mouth, still processing what he had just watched.

"We have to call this in, Tai."

"Not until we know where she may have gone. She was trying to leave in a panic. She might have left something for us."

"Try tracking her phone."

Taiyang pulled out his phone and opened up the tracking app and saw that Ruby did have her phone still.

"She's on the move. Fast, perhaps she is in a car."

"Did she use an app?"

Taiyang then opened up Ruby's bank account and saw that about fifteen dollars were spent to drive her to… 

"Elmhurst Park. We've got the location. It looks like its a couple of miles from here, so we can catch up. Get the car ready. I'll call Raven."

Qrow ran outside to start the car.

'Master Rose,' Penny said.

"Not now, Penny."

_ "You can't stop her…" _

Taiyang looked at Penny, who was now Summer. She was staring at him with her bright silver eyes as a tear strolled down her cheek.

_ "You must let go…" _

"There it is," Tai said as he found Raven's contact. Calling her, Raven quickly answered.

'Tai?'

"We have a G-10-41. Ruby Rose is a Grimm. I repeat. Ruby Rose is a Grimm. Head to Elmhurst Park."

_ 9:03 PM _

_ I remember sitting there, processing everything that had occurred before my current situation. How did I get to this moment? What was in store for me? A thousand questions were flooding my brain with no possible answers. I was so caught up that I nearly jumped at the automated message that the cab made. _

'Thank you for using InstaCabs, the transportation of the future. Please take caution in stepping out of the vehicle.'

Grabbing her bag, Ruby stepped out of the cab and stared at the entrance to the park. It wasn't gated or locked; the only thing stopping people was a small chain with a 'Closed' sign at the center.

Feeling a loose grip on her bag caused Ruby to tighten both of the straps of her backpack. Once she was sure that it would not slip, Ruby proceeded inside of the park.

It was so dark with the only sources of light being lampposts that were about ten feet apart from one another. Rounding a corner, Ruby reached a railing that faced a small pond that seemed newly added and a little water shooter system beside it. Looking at her map application, Ruby saw that she was at the center of the park.

"Jaune? Jaune, I'm here."

Ruby's whispers were met with silence. Ruby walked up and placed her hands on the cold metal railing and stared at the small pond. Its surface had a small ring of ice brushing against the hard concrete. However, the water was still pitch black reflection of the night sky, showing a near-perfect reflection of Ruby.

_ I remember thinking to myself. I thought of what I was going to do if Jaune didn't show up. I didn't have a choice anymore. I had to leave. I had to leave before the G.G.B. is passed. Dad would understand… right? I had to believe that. _

Not wanting to stare at her reflection anymore, Ruby looked around to see a bench facing the pond. Ruby decided that resting might help her, so she sat down. However, all she felt was her heart finishing a marathon.

*BZZZT*

With her phone still in her hand, Ruby looked at the notification that was now on her screen.

'Missed Call: Dad'

'Ruby, pick up the phone NOW.'

_ I never wanted this to happen. I am sorry, dad. I am sorry about mom, and I am sorry about me. I hope that one day, you can understand that I had to do what I did… not just because I didn't want to be taken. But because I didn't want to die. _

_ Then it hit me. It was all because of this fucking phone. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for this fucking phone. _

Rage engulfed Ruby like water absorbs salt. Standing up, Ruby screamed as she threw the phone with all her might. She watched as the phone flew through the air and landed right in the center of the pond, sinking to its dark depths.

And then, Ruby realized what she had just done. It was at that moment that she realized that she had just thrown one of the only items of her mother's into the pond like a piece of trash. Ruby, feeling every emotion she had come out at once, Ruby fell to her knees and started crying.

"I… I'm so sorry, mom…"

Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder. Without thinking, Ruby delivered a swift elbow to the chest of her alleged attacker.

"AGH!" They cried as they backed away from Ruby.

"Back up, I don't want to hurt you," Ruby said as she got into a defensive stance that her father taught her.

"Jesus Ruby, it's me!"

"Jaune?"

He wore a puffy black jacket and denim jeans and a beanie. On his back was a backpack similar to Ruby's, except his bag looked a bit lighter.

"God… you pack a nasty elbow," He groaned, "what was all that about?"

"I'd rather not talk about it…"

Jaune could see in her eyes that she was hurting. Placing his hand on her shoulder once again, he nodded.

"I get it…"

"I'm sorry, I just… I feel like I'm losing my mind."

"So… I take it you're here because you want to come with?"

"I don't have a choice anymore…"

"What do you mean?"

"Ciel… she heard us and I… I… lost control."

"What do you mean you—"

"When she started to call my father, I used the electric spell and destroyed her phone. I don't know what I was thinking. I just… a thousand things were going through my head. And they still are! And most of them make me feel like I am in a nightmare."

"So… two Grimm on the run days before they call for our extinction. How dramatic…" Jaune said, "I will admit, the road ahead won't be easy, but it's better than waiting to die. Are you ready for this?"

Jaune looked to Ruby and extended his hand. Ruby stared at it and slowly began to reach for it, when the sudden they heard, "G.D.T.F., PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"

Ruby and Jaune held their hands up high as they saw the two G.D.T.F. members in front of them.

"Dad?" Ruby asked.

"How did you find us," Jaune asked.

"The station received a call that Ruby attacked another student at school with magic. When we returned home to bring you in for a test, we found Penny, saw you made a payment to get a cab here."

"You paid for a fucking cab ride here," Jaune asked, dumbfounded.

"I…"

"Enough!" Taiyang yelled, "Ruby Rose, you and your accomplice are under arrest under the suspicion of being Grimm. You will be taken to the nearest G.D.T.F. Department where you will be tested if you are Grimm. If you are found to be a Grimm, you will be… you will be taken to an institution where you will treated for your disease. Raven, will you please call the other task force members to come with restraints and transport?"

"Tai—"

"Now," Taiyang yelled.

"Yes, sir…" Raven said as she walked out of sight.

"Dad…"

"I thought something was different when you came home. The way you acted, the scrapes on your hands… now it all makes sense."

"Dad, they are going to kill us."

"They aren't going to kill you, Ruby," Taiyang said.

"The G.G.B. is going to be voted on within the week, and if it passes, then thousands like Jaune and I will be killed."

Ruby looked towards Qrow, who seemed as though he had conflicted feelings.

"Uncle Qrow… please…"

"I...I'm sorry, kid…"

"Ruby, you don't have a choice here. You are going to come with us and—"

"No."

This response seemed to surprise both Qrow and Taiyang. The two then heard rustling behind them and turned to see Raven approaching. During that time, Jaune looked down and saw that there was sand underneath the bench that they were currently standing in.

"Get ready…" Jaune whispered.

Ruby looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Jaune had dug his right foot into the sand and knew what he was going to do.

"I called," Raven said, "They should arrive here within twelve minutes."

"Agh…" Ruby groaned, gaining the attention of everyone.

"What is it," Qrow asked.

"I think a snowflake got into my eye. Can I… Can I lower my arms to clean it?"

"… Just keep your hands where we can see them and be quick about it." Taiyang said.

Ruby lowered her arms and rubbed both of her eyes. Jaune watched as Ruby put both of her hands on her eyes and began to rub them slowly. Taking that as a sign that she was ready, Jaune kicked his foot upward, sending sand at the three officers.

" _ Lumen _ !" Jaune yelled.

Lowering her hands, Ruby saw all three of the adults were holding their eyes in pain.

"We have to go now!" Jaune said.

"Ruby!" Taiyang yelled as he continued to groan in pain.

"I'm sorry, dad…"

_ After that, Jaune and I ran. I ran out of the park and left dad and the others behind. I remember looking at Jaune and seeing the fear in his Grimm eyes as we sprinted as fast as we could out of the entrance of the park. _

Stopping at the entrance for a quick breath, Jaune looked back where we came.

"Okay… We don't have long until that spell wears off, and the patrol will be here soon."

"What are we gonna do?" Ruby asked.

"They can't find us easily if they can't track us", Jaune said.

Turning back to the entrance, Jaune crouched down and placed his hands on both of their separate footprints.

" _ Abscondere pedes _ …"

Ruby watched as Jaune's spell went into effect. The snow that was crushed under their feet began to rise again, leaving an untouched pathway into the park.

Jaune stood back up and turned to look down the street. As they stood there, Ruby could hear it too.

"They're coming."

"Ruby, are you ready?"

Ruby looked to Jaune and nodded.

"Let's go."


	6. Unsuspected Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Jaune struggle to evade the authorities as a snow storm acts as a major obstacle on their journey.

_ December 2nd, 2040 _

_ 9:45 PM _

Taiyang felt as though he was living in a nightmare. He was not listening to anything that was going on around him, as it was all muted. The only thing he heard was Ruby's last words to him.

_ "I'm sorry, dad…" _

"Tai," Qrow said.

"What? Did we find something," Taiyang asked.

"No," Officer Derek said as he stood next to Qrow, "Phillips and I tried sweeping the perimeter, and they aren't here. We also can't find any tracks of where they went."

"Well, it can't have been the weather, Phillips. So how did they get-"

"They're using magic to cover their tracks," Taiyang said plainly.

Raven saw the look in Taiyang's eyes. He was in no shape to make any orders. "Okay, Derek, what I need are cameras. Patch me into any surveillance cameras within a three-block radius."

"Yes, ma'am, we also received a message from the chief. He wants to see all three of you back at the precinct as soon as possible."

Raven, Taiyang, and Qrow knew that they were going to be walking into the inferno, so Taiyang said, "I will go by myself. Raven, Qrow, get suited up at and track down Ruby and her accomplice."

With that, Taiyang began to walk back to his car, Raven following closely behind him.

"Sergeant, we should put out a BOLO-G for Ruby and sir," Derek asked, "It could help us find her and her accomplice faster."

"You want to put a BOLO-G out on a G.D.T.F lieutenant's daughter? I'd rather put a gun in my mouth than deal with that backlash from both the media and the lieutenant," Qrow said.

"Well, then what should we do?"

"We need to do this quickly and quietly, or else it's all of our asses. You hear me," Qrow asked.

"Yes, sergeant."

"Good. Now get back out there. Keep looking. Ruby was smart, but she was panicking when we last saw her. Maybe she left something behind."

Taiyang got to his car but stopped moving when he saw Raven was standing in front of the vehicle.

"Tai," Raven said, "can we talk?"

"I have to get back."

"Are you sure you want to go in there alone?"

"This is all my fault. I should have known about Ruby. I am the one who should get the blame."

"You know that isn't—"

"I'll talk to you after I get back."

"Tai."

"I have to go," Taiyang ignored Raven as he got into the car and drove off.

"TAI," Raven yelled.

As Raven watched Taiyang speed off, Raven felt a jab on her shoulder. Looking to her right, she saw Qrow was standing beside her, "Let him go, Rave. He needs some time to himself. Do you need a ride home?"

"No… I need a monitor and those cameras ASAP," Raven said as she walked back towards the other officers.

Qrow sighed, "This is gonna be a long night…"

_ 10:02 AM _

As Taiyang walked into the precinct, he was met with looks and glares from his fellow officers as he walked in the direction of Police Chief Schnee's office.

"Head of the Grimm Task Force… not for long," He heard.

"Can't believe that Ruby is a Grimm."

Turning the corner towards the chief's office, Taiyang saw Summer standing next to the door.

Instead of acknowledging her, Taiyang just continued inside to see chief Schnee screaming at his phone.

"No, Mr. Soleil, I promise that this issue will be taken care of momentarily. I have to go," Jacques slammed his phone down on the handle, hanging up the phone. "Please tell me that Ruby is here for her Grimm test."

"No, sir."

"No? Where is she then?"

Jacques listened to Taiyang's story leading up to the present. With every word Taiyang said, another hair on Jacques' mustache turned white. When Taiynag was done talking, Jacques stared at Taiyang for moments before he placed his hands on his head.

"My god… the damage this is going to do. Not only to us, Tai, but the department."

"My men and the night shift are working on trying and finding them. They ran off on foot only an hour ago. They couldn't have gotten far."

"For your sake, I suggest you hurry and find them now. Mr. Soleil said that if she is not in cuffs by sunrise, he will go to the media. If you can't find her before sunrise, then I have no choice but to release a BOLO-G, got it?"

"Yes, sir," Taiyang said as he began to leave.

"And Tai, you realize that once this is over, there will be consequences."

Taiyang nodded as he walked out of the office to see Summer again.

_ "The rose is gone…" _

"I don't have time for this," Taiyang said as he walked away from the hallucination.

_ "A single rose in a cold world will end in death." _

Taiyang stood still for only a moment, taking in the words that the hallucination said. But when he looked back to her, she was gone.

_ 12:02 AM _

_ God, it was so cold. Jaune and I had managed to stay relatively warm as we continued through the alleyways and shortcuts of New York. But with every move we made, Jaune used the cloaking spell, which was taking a toll on him from excessive use of magic. I could tell that he was running on fumes now. _

Currently hiding in an alleyway, Ruby and Jaune were hiding behind a dumpster on the side of an apartment building, hiding from the Light as a G.D.T.F patrol passed them. Once they saw the floodlight pass them, Ruby felt that it was time to gather their energy. However, Jaune started to get up.

"We can't stop."

As Ruby began to get up, she saw Jaune was using the wall as support.

"Jaune, I think that you should rest for a bit. You're exhausted from using too much magic. My dad calls it Grimm Fatigue. It's how he catches most of the Grimm he goes after," Ruby said, "We are safe here for now. Just take a seat."

"Fine…" Jaune said as he slumped back onto the ground. Looking up at the sky, Jaune felt the snow coming down on them, "I wish we could make a fire…"

Just the thought of more warmth sent shivers down Ruby's spine as she blew her breath into her hands for warmth, "Let's not think… about that… So… if we get out of New York. Where are… are we going to next?"

"The plan is to head for Haven."

"Haven? Why?"

"A week ago, I... I received a m-message from The Light. They said that their closest contact is in... in Haven."

"How? After the March on Shade Street—"

"They said that she is a trusted ally and friend of the leader of Burlington's faction of the Light. She has been helping other Grimm reach Liberteria for the last four years and will be expecting us to arrive within the next day or so."

"If there is someone in Haven who can help us, then how will we be getting there?"

"The plan... was to leave the city by taking the train that stops in Haven. But due to recent, shall we say, developments, I don't think that option is available anymore. By now, our faces are probably all over the city. So… I hope you're ready for quite the walk ahead for us."

"…No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"We're going to leave the city by taking the train."

"Look, I know we don't have a lot of options, but a suicide mission isn't the direction I'm thinking of going at the moment," Jaune said.

"The G.D.T.F and N.Y.P.D won't go public about us, not yet."

"Ruby, if you have some future seeing spell, please let me know. How do you know they haven't already," Jaune asked.

"Because… I am the daughter of a G.D.T.F lieutenant."

Jaune's seemed to catch on to what Ruby was saying as he began to speak, "…And if it came out that you are a Grimm, then the blowback would be a nightmare. The media would attack the chief like a mob. But wait… they would go after your dad too."

Ruby's smile vanished as she looked back out of the alleyway, quickly scanning for a patrol before sitting back behind the side of the dumpster.

"If we get caught, they will go after him. If we make it out and they reveal who I am, they will go after him. Either way, he will be attacked, and I'd rather not be around when that happens," Ruby said.

_ I hated saying that. I hated that this happened. I hated that any of this was real. I caused all of this. I destroyed my entire family's life… because of what I am. _

"Even if they haven't gone public yet, what you are suggesting is way too risky."

"We're sitting in an alleyway, hiding from the cops while sitting in -2º weather. If we stay here, we will either get caught or freeze to death. If we try for the train station, there's the possibility that we can make it."

Jaune sighed as he pulled his sleeve up, revealing his watch, "12:17 AM… What's the closest train station?"

"The closest station that can take us to Haven would be… Grand Central."

"Of course it is… Okay," Jaune said as he planned it out in his head, "If we can get through Woodside without getting caught, we can try and take the ferry across to Manhattan. Once across, we should be in the clear, and then we can sprint to the station and make it by morning. Okay… Yeah, I'm in. I think that I am good to go."

"Wait."

Jaune looked in Ruby's direction and saw the red and blue lights slowly coming into view from the other side of the alleyway.

"Come on, stay quiet, and don't stop," Jaune said as the two snuck away.

_ 1:12 AM _

Qrow sat in his house, geared up for his patrol. He was currently cleaning his revolver when he heard Raven on his radio.

'Sergeant Rose, what is your status? Over.'

Qrow grabbed the radio and answered, "Went home and geared up. Since I'm in Woodside, I figured I'd check here. Over."

'10-4. We will be sending additional officers to your sector when they return from their search.'

"Yeah, yeah…" Qrow said as he set his radio down on his bed.

Looking over to his shelf, Qrow saw a photo of his sister. She was sitting in a hospital bed, holding a recently born Ruby in her arms and a smile on her face. On both sides of her were Qrow and Taiyang with similar smiles.

"I wish that we could have stayed in that moment, sis. Back when everything made sense... Look, something has happened, and Ruby… Ruby is not like what you remember. I know that I have a job to follow through, but... but I promised you that I'd... God, I wish that you were here to help me figure this out."

Qrow began to cry as he held the photo of his sister. Composing himself, Qrow wiped his tears away and placed the frame back down, "See you around, sis."

With that, Qrow grabbed his radio and walked out of his house to find his niece.

_ 1:30 AM _

_ As the night drew on, more patrols entered the streets. As far as I could tell, dad called every G.D.T.F officer to search for us. I would say I was flattered how hard he was looking for me. But given the circumstances, I was terrified every single second we were out there. We just kept going through alleyways and kept covering our tracks, taking turns after Jaune taught me how to cast the spell, which very soon took its toll on me as well. _

As the night drew on, both Jaune and Ruby were drained from their excessive use of magic. Exhausted, Ruby and Jaune were currently hiding in another alleyway. This alleyway was between a bakery and a pizzeria, keeping themselves warm from the oven steam that was shooting out the side of the building.

"How f-f-far… How far ha-a-ave we gotten?" Ruby asked, her voice mumbling from the cold.

"We're on G-Greenpoint… I think… we're half w-way."

Ruby shivered again as a chilling wind swept through the alleyway. Ruby placed her hand in front of the pipe for direct warmth... but it wasn't enough.

"We still have a few hours until sunrise," Jaune said as he looked at Ruby, "you're freezing."

"I-I'm fine."

"I think… we can manage the rest of the way without magic. We are pretty… pretty far from where we started."

"My uncle… My uncle lives in this area. It's possible they came here to… to look for us…"

"Shit. O-Okay… let's go…"

"Jaune—"

"The longer w-we stay here, the b-b-bigger the possibly of being caught. We can rest on the ferry. It's going to start departures soon," Jaune said, extending his hand to Ruby.

Ruby grabbed his hand and was pulled up from her spot. Putting her bag back on, the two proceeded out of the alleyway. As they slowly crossed the street, they saw a car turn the corner, and Ruby recognized the vehicle instantly.

"Uncle Qrow… Jaune, run!"

The two began to sprint as fast as they could when Jaune tripped, falling to the ground.

"Jaune! Get up," Ruby said as she picked Jaune up and carried him by the arm.

"Run," Jaune said weakly.

She didn't listen to Jaune and continued to try and help him up. But as she did this, the car pulled in front of her. As she got Jaune up, they saw that they had nowhere left to run.

"I'm sorry…" Jaune said.

"Shut up. We can make it."

Ruby, determined to get Jaune to safety, turned around to run back into the alley when a voice called out to her.

"Freeze!"

Ruby froze dead in her tracks. She knew, deep down, that it was the end for them. She had no energy to try anything funny, so with tears in her eyes, Ruby slowly turned to Qrow as he emerged from his car.

"My god Ruby… you look horrible."

'Sergeant Rose, do you have any update on Ruby and her assailant?' Raven asked through Qrow's radio.

Qrow grabbed his radio and leaned into it.

"Uncle Qrow."

Qrow looked at his niece.

"Please…"

Qrow looked into Ruby's eyes and saw not hatred or anger that most Grimm he has encountered had. Instead, he saw the same fear as that boy he arrested just hours earlier.

"Please…" Ruby said again.

'I repeat, Sergeant Rose, is there any updates on your patrol?'

"…Negative, I don't think they're in Woodside, proceeding to Sunnyside."

'10-4. We will reroute a few cruisers to do a final sweep before heading over to Sunnyside.'

Turning off his radio, Qrow looked at the two kids, "Get in quickly before you freeze to death."

Ruby, seeing no other option, walked towards the cruiser and helped Jaune into the backseat of her uncle's car before getting into the passenger seat. Starting the car, the three just sat there as the heat started up, causing Ruby and Jaune to sigh in relief.

"Where were you going?"

"Grand Central."

"...Okay," Qrow said as he began to drive."

"I-Is the BOLO out yet," Ruby asked as she felt the feeling in her fingers return.

"Not yet. Tai told us that the chief was threatened by Mr. Soleil to do something before sunrise. I assume that's how long you have."

"I told you Jaune."

Jaune responded by weakly giving a thumbs up.

"What's up with him," Qrow asked.

"He has Grimm Fatigue."

"I see… Just rest kid, you two will be up and at it again in about an hour or so."

"Rest in a car with a G.D.T.F officer… that's a… good one…"

Ruby turned to argue with Jaune but saw that he had already passed out from exhaustion. Looking back at the boy, Qrow asked, "You trust him?"

Ruby stared at Jaune with a weak smile on her face, "Yeah… I do for some weird reason…"

Qrow slowly rubbed his eyes, "I swear if I had a nickel for every time one of these little shits blinded me, I… oh sorry… I still just… I can't wrap my head around any of this."

"…Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you helping us? We're Grimm. You could go to jail for helping us."

Qrow told the story of the kid that he recently arrested and that he would instead help Ruby leave and deal with the consequences than imagine what she would go through inside of the Institution.

"I wish dad saw it that way…"

"Tai is dealing with this week how he always has, and that is the hard part. He always tries to take this week on by himself every year, and I think that this just made him snap."

"So it's my fault…"

"No, kid, it is not your fault."

"Uncle Qrow, I am a Grimm. And now that you and dad and everyone else knows, my life is practically over now. And not only that, I dragged all of you down with me. I-I'm sorry," Ruby said through sniffles from both the cold and tears.

"When I joined, I joined the task force to protect my sister. I failed to do that. But, she had you, so I made a promise to her that I would make sure that nothing will happen to you. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that I follow through with that promise."

Ruby smiled before she felt her eyes beginning to grow heavy as her body started to give in to her exhaustion. Qrow saw that too and chuckled, "Why don't you get some rest? We have some time before we get there."

"Okay…and Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, kid," Qrow asked.

"…Thank you."

Qrow looked at Ruby and saw that she had fallen asleep.

"Sure thing, kid. Sure thing…"

As Ruby fell asleep, Qrow just thought, 'I made you a promise, Summer… I made you a promise.'


	7. Catching the Train

_ December 3rd, 2040 _

_ 4:42 AM _

The night was almost over, and the G.D.T.F has still not managed to find Ruby or Jaune. The constant wild goose chase was starting to get to some of the officers, mainly the two present officers that were responsible for getting Ruby back.

Taiyang was grabbing some coffee for himself and Raven in the break room when Chief Schnee approached him.

"I see that you have time for coffee, Lieutenant. Can I assume that you have your daughter in custody?"

"No, sir but—"

"You had until sunrise, and would you look at that," Jacques said as he looked outside, "The sun is rising."

"Chief, I just need—"

"What you need is to pray to whatever God you pray to that they will help you find her soon, or else I will do everything in my power to ensure that you regret it."

It took everything that Taiyang had to keep his calm as he walked past his chief to continue working. As he walked down the hall, he could hear Summer.

" _ At the edge of withering, a bird aids the rose… _ "

Without acknowledging Summer's presence, Taiyang opened the door into the G.D.T.F department to see Raven. She was exhaustively working at finding the path that the two went on. Taiyang walked up and handed Raven her cup, which she gladly took and said, "Thanks."

"Schnee's stick got further up the valley…"

"Well, if he wants to search through the last ten hours of over a hundred cameras, then he can go ahead and join me," Raven said.

As Taiyang stood there, that phrase echoed in his mind.

'A bird aids the rose…' Taiyang thought to himself.

"Hey, have you heard anything from Qrow?"

"No. Last we heard from Qrow, he was checking out Sunnyside, and that was a few hours ago."

"Who did we send to check out Sunnyside?"

"That would be Officers Fox and Bolin."

"Call them in. Ask if they met up with Qrow."

Raven seemed confused, but did so anyway, "Officers Sun and Fox, please respond."

'10-4, comms. How can we assist?'

"Did you come into contact with Sergeant Rose during your search in Sunnyside?"

'Negative ma'am, it was just us. Unfortunately, we found zero leads over here.'

Upon hearing this news, the two officers became concerned.

"Raven, bring up the recordings closest to the park. Follow any recordings that have Qrow in them."

"Tai, what are you suggesting?"

"It's just a hunch. Come on. We don't have much time!"

Raven nodded and proceeded to go back to the recordings near the park.

"Okay, there he is… where are you going, Qrow," Raven said to herself.

_ 5:12 AM _

Taiyang was sitting at his desk, trying to call Qrow. However, every time that he rang for the number, the call went to voicemail.

Before he could try again, Raven yelled, "Tai!"

Taiyang ran over to Raven to see what was wrong, "What is it?"

"I have good and bad news. For the good news, I found where Ruby is."

"Okay?"

"Now for the bad news…"

_ 5:15 AM _

"Sergeant Rose did WHAT," Jacques yelled.

"Look, we know where he is most likely taking them. We need you to call Manhattan's G.D.T.F and let them know that they have to hurry."

"Dear God, I expected you to say that she got away… but THIS! THIS IS A PR NIGHTMARE!"

"Sir—"

"Go. Go and get that damn girl NOW! I have waited long enough, Tai. I have to release a BOLO, Lieutenant. You better manage to get her and Qrow, or so help me… GO!"

Taiyang ran out of the precinct and drove to the only location that Ruby and Jaune could go to leave undetected.

Meanwhile, Raven quickly sat down and tuned the radio to all channels.

"Attention all G.D.T.F officers. The two Grimm are heading to Grand Central Station with the aid of Sergeant Rose. I repeat, Sergeant Rose is aiding Ruby Rose and her accomplice."

_ 5:11 AM _

Ruby was shaken awake to the sounds of the ambiance of New York: honking and talking. It was all nearly overwhelming to Ruby, but she managed. Looking to see who it was that woke her up, she was somewhat glad to discover that it was Jaune who had woken her up. What was a small surprise for Ruby was that instead of his outfit from the previous night, Jaune was wearing dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black zip-up hoodie.

"Ruby, it's time to get up."

"Where are we?"

"We're at Grand Central."

Ruby slowly stepped out of the car and saw the massive structure that she stood in front of and could not help but be fascinated by the old building.

"Wow…"

"Escape now, fascinate later," Jaune said as he handed Ruby her bag.

Ruby rolled her eyes and yawned as she put the bag on her back and zipped up the straps. Looking up the steps in front of them, Ruby saw Qrow walking down to them, holding a small envelope.

"Ah good, you're awake. You two have the first ride out of here. It departs in twenty minutes. I can assume that since it has been all night with no leads as to where you two are, the G.D.T.F will be forced to release a BOLO for you two any minute now. So, I will not inform you that there is still the conductor android that can cut the emergency brakes to the LightTrain."

"And in return, we will not inform you that we may have to disable said android to ensure we get out of the city," Jaune said.

Qrow chuckled as he pulled out his wallet and took out every bit of cash he had before handing it towards Ruby, along with the envelope containing the tickets. Ruby saw that it was around two hundred dollars before Qrow said, "Take it."

"Uncle Qrow, I can't-"

"You can, and you will. You will need it to get to Burlington."

Knowing that no was not an option when it comes to a decision made by Qrow, Ruby reluctantly took the money.

"Well, kid, it looks like this is it... for a while at least. I expected this to happen when you were eighteen, but I ah… I'll miss you," Qrow said as he rubbed his eye.

Ruby, with tears in her eyes, hugged her uncle tightly.

"Send us a postcard when you get there, okay," Qrow chuckled.

"Yes, hehe…Yes, of course, I will…" Ruby chuckled as she wiped her eyes.

"And Jaune, you take care of her, you hear me? Or I swear, I will use you to demonstrate every tactic of a G.D.T.F officer."

"Y-Yes sir," Jaune said, extremely intimidated by the older man.

"I can take care of myself, you know," Ruby said.

Qrow smiled, "I know you can, kiddo. Now get out of here."

Qrow watched as both Jaune and Ruby ran up the steps into Grand Central before his smile vanished, knowing fully well about what was going to happen now.

"Goodbye, Ruby…" Qrow said as he got back into his car and turned on his police scanner.

'Attention G.D.T.F officers, we are en route to Grand Central. I want the Grimm taken alive! If you come into contact with Sergeant Rose, incapacitate him.'

'Affirmative.'

Qrow sighed as he pulled his holstered gun off of his person, removed his badge, and set them on the seat beside him. After that, he just sat still and waited.

_ 5:20 AM _

Taking their first steps into the train station, Ruby could not help but be amazed at the old interior architecture.

"We made it."

"Let's not celebrate just yet. We still have to make it onto the train," Jaune said.

Ruby and Jaune walked down to the main lobby of the station and sat down at a nearby bench.

"Okay. We have about twenty minutes to find that android. Any ideas?" Jaune asked.

"It's a LightTrain, so the conductor android will most likely be working from a control station on the same platform as the train itself. It's like RC cars," Ruby said.

"What's that?"

"Nothing… What matters is that we have to take care of that android quickly. If they announce emergency procedures, the androids will automatically shut off the trains, and we will be trapped. The door will most likely be in view of a camera, but if we time it right, we can get inside before it sees us."

"You're turning into a full-blown mastermind. By the way, in case you wanna change into something fresh, there is a bathroom right over there."

"I don't think we have time for... that…" Ruby said as she looked at the monitor and saw the news, "Fuck."

"What," Jaune asked.

Ruby pointed at the TV, which was reading breaking news.

'The two Grimm have evaded the G.D.T.F so far. Because of this, the G.D.T.F has released this BOLO, and you are not going to believe this. One of the Grimm, this girl, Ruby Rose,' the TV showed a photo of Ruby, 'is the daughter of Queens' head of the G.D.T.F. You can see why they were so hesitant to upload a BOLO until this morning. Her accomplice, now identified as Jaune Arc, are to be considered extremely dangerous. If you see them, please report them to the nearest police officials.'

"Oh, fuck…" Jaune said as he stared at the armed security android at the door, "We need to hurry. Come on, just act normal and keep your head down to avoid the cameras."

_ 5:26 AM _

It was hard, but Ruby and Jaune managed to slip by the security androids without being recognized.

As they walked down the mostly empty escalator, they proceeded towards the Haven train line.

"You think that they know that we're here?"

"I don't know… but let's not wait around to find out."

"Look," Jaune said.

Ruby saw what Jaune was pointing at, 'ANDROIDS AND OFFICIAL PERSONNEL ONLY.'

"Well, it looks like we found our door... and the camera," Jaune pointed at the camera that was aimed directly at the door.

Ruby walked right underneath the camera and began leaning against the pillar while Jaune was keeping an eye out for anyone else. Getting a nod from Jaune that they were clear, Ruby nodded back and reached her hand up, " _ Electricae _ ."

The camera's red light flickered before sparking and shutting down. Ruby watched the electricity wrap around her hand.

"Quick!"

Ruby ran over to Jaune and extended her palm onto the pad next to the door. Releasing the jolt of power she took from the camera, Ruby sent it all into the digital pad, causing it to overload and unlock the door.

_ I felt like I was in a spy movie or something. Jaune and I quickly got inside and saw the inside of where the androids worked. The interior of the room was filthy. Cobwebs were in almost every corner of the room. There was only a single lightbulb in the place, and even that was flickering. I guess since the androids don't need lights, why even bother pretending to make them feel comfortable. _

The old android conductor looked at the two and said, 'You two are not supposed to be here and are currently trespassing. Please remain stationed where you are while I notify security.'

Jaune quickly ran up and placed his hand on the robot's chest, " _ Electricae. _ "

A flash came from within the android's body, his digital eyes flickering and its body shaking as it collapsed to the ground.

'Error… error…'

Once he knew the android was out for the count, Jaune walked up to the console and tried searching for the emergency break.

"Come on, where are you, you metal piece of junk?" Jaune asked.

After taking a minute or two to find it, to no avail, Jaune said, "Fuck it… I'm taking down the whole console. Ruby, I think I am going to need a hand."

"Okay."

Ruby walked up to Jaune before both of them placed their hands on the console.

"Okay, on three, we will say the electric spell. Ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Now… one… two… three!"

" _ Electricae _ !"

The two watched the console as it began to malfunction. Buttons flickered, and sparks flew from the box. After a few seconds, the console just completely shut down. Ruby and Jaune pulled their hands away from the console and stared at the power in their hands.

_ As I stared at the raw power, I stared in awe at the sight of this mass amount of energy that wrapped around my hand like a snake as its color changed between blue, white, yellow, purple. It was a beautiful and deadly blend of colors. _

"Okay, that should be enough."

Jaune and Ruby cut their connections from the console, and each held a mass of electricity in their hands.

"Okay, Ruby. On three, we shoot the electricity back at the console to overload it and keep it out of commission for a good long while, okay?"

"Got it," Ruby said with a look of determination on her face.

"Okay, on three. One… Two… Three!"

Ruby and Jaune aimed their hands at the console, and once Jaune said three, both of them released the power back into the console. The console began to spark and smoke before it released a small electrical burst before the console went completely dark.

"Jaune," Ruby pointed at the lever that was labeled, 'Emergency ONLY.'

"I mean… I could have found that" Jaune said as he wrapped his hand on the lever and took a breath, "Okay… here goes nothing…"

_ I remember that I watched Jaune grab hold of that switch while praying to every depiction of God and biting my fingernails to the numb, hoping that what we did worked. _

Jaune took a big breath before he flipped the switch…

Nothing.

No noises were echoing from outside or from the console itself. Which meant…

"Oh, Thank god…" Ruby sighed in relief.

"Yeah, that's in need of a replacement," Jaune chuckled as he grabbed a clipboard and pen.

After he wrote something down, he handed the board to Ruby, "Is this appropriate for the occasion?"

Ruby chuckled at Jaune's joke and nodded.

_ 5:34 AM _

Qrow stood outside the front entrance of the train station in handcuffs, a black eye, and a cut lip. Behind him were three G.D.T.F officers, one of which had a broken nose and another was holding his arm. Watching as a G.D.T.F vehicle pulled up, he spit out some saliva and blood as he saw Taiyang walking up those steps with hatred in his eyes.

"What happened," Taiyang asked.

"My men spotted him waiting in his car down there and reported it to me. When we tried to ask him to step out, he started an altercation that resulted in… let's say some minor injuries."

"You call these injuries," Qrow chuckled, "I barely felt these. Speaking of feeling, how's that arm again?"

"Quiet," The officer growled.

Taiyang took a step closer to Qrow with a feeling of hatred and betrayal in his heart, "Why Qrow?"

"Because I promised Summer… and I fulfilled that promise. Unlike you…"

Gritting his teeth, Taiyang said, "Take him back to Queens, we will deal with him later."

'Tai, I was checking the cameras in the station, and one of them went out just a few minutes ago.'

"Which line, Raven?"

'The Haven line.'

"Get in there and shut down the Haven train line, NOW!" Taiyang yelled as they ran into the train station.

"Good luck, kids…" Qrow said to himself.

_ 5:37 AM _

'Attention. Wanted Grimm have been sighted in the station. Android conductors are ordered to halt all LightTrains immediately and are not allowed to release them until further notice.'

"Looks like we were just in time," Jaune said as he looked at the clock on the wall, "speaking of time, our train is leaving in three minutes."

Jaune set the clipboard on the console before the two proceeded out of the control room.

"G.D.T.F FREEZE!"

Ruby and Jaune came to a sudden stop as they looked in the direction of the entrance to the Haven line. The two saw Taiyang and three G.D.T.F officers were aiming their weapons at the two Grimm eyed teens.

_ The air was stagnant as we stood there in the haunting silence. As I looked towards Jaune, I could see the beads of sweat that were dripping down his head as he slowly tightened the straps on his bag. _

"Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc, you two are under arrest for committing three acts of violence and for performing acts of magic. You are to be sent t—" 

'The Haven line shall depart in two minutes.'

_ A single second can be all that you need to perform the near impossible. _

In that split second interruption, Jaune grabbed Ruby's arm and shouted, " _ AER _ !"

Within seconds, Jaune and Ruby were basted back towards the end of the corridor and sending the G.D.T.F officers back a good couple of feet. Hitting the wall, Ruby tried to regain herself but didn't have time as Jaune quickly got up and pulled her by the arm.

"Take them dow—"

"No! I want them alive!" Taiyang yelled.

"Don't stop, Ruby," Jaune yelled

Ruby and Jaune ran down another set of stairs to see an identification checkpoint with a group of angry citizens in between them. Jaune and Ruby pushed through and jumped over the checkpoint, signaling an alarm.

'ATTENTION, YOU ARE CURRENTLY TRESPASSING'

"There it is," Ruby looked up ahead and saw the train was still stationed at the moment.

"We're almost there," She said.

"Hold it right there!"

Looking back, Ruby saw a security android was chasing after them, along with the G.D.T.F officers that were slowly making it through the crowded checkpoint.

" _ Electricae _ !"

Ruby's spell worked as the electricity was practically ripped out from the android and wrapped around her had. Taking the opportunity, Ruby quickly aimed her hand towards the officers and released the spell, hitting one of the officers and knocking him into a pillar.

"Screw this, take them down!"

"NO!"

As one or two bullets zipped past them, Ruby and Jaune jumped onto the train just as the doors closed, hearing an audible thud behind them against the glass.

"NO!"

Ruby turned around to see Taiyang as his fists were planted against the train door. He had tired, bloodshot eyes staring directly at her own as his hands were plastered against the train door.

"Ruby, get away from the door," Jaune said.

But Ruby did not hear Jaune as she slowly moved towards the door, watching as her father tried to find some way to open the train doors. Out of options, all he did was pull out his gun and slammed it into the window, a tactic that proved to have no effect. Making direct eye contact with her father, Ruby stared at her father with tears in her eyes as she showed him what she was.

"Ruby…" Taiyang said as Ruby could see tears in his eyes.

"I didn't want this, dad…" Ruby said, "But this is what I am…"

Ruby placed her hand on the door and watched as her father kept trying to open the door.

'Train departing now.'

_ Dad… I know that you cannot hear the words that I am saying, as much as I wish that you could. I hope that you could have seen how hard I tried. I wish you could remember all the times that we had together… I wish that none of this happened. But deep down, I knew this was going to end in one of two ways. Please, dad. If it is going to help you feel better, remember me for who I was pretending to be. And not what I truly am. _

"Goodbye," Ruby said.

Ruby could feel the mechanisms of the train begin to vibrate, signaling that the train was starting to move. Removing her hand from the door, Ruby stepped back and proceeded to walk away from her father, despite his muffled calls to her. Seconds later, and his voice was gone.

_ 5:40 AM _

"GET THAT TRAIN TO STOP!"

Taiyang ran back up the stairs to the control room to see an officer was walking out of the control room with a clipboard.

"Officer, did you find the emergency control switch?"

"The console was destroyed… and this was left on top of the console," The officer handed Taiyang the clipboard.

'NICE TRY!'

Looking at the officer, he handed the board back to her and walked back up the stairs, seeing Summer at the top.

" _ The Rose leaves the city… free and unburdened.  _ "

Taiyang stared at Summer's ghost before continuing up the stairs and past her, "No. She is not."

_ 5:41 AM _

Ruby looked back as the train continued to leave the station. She had left New York and everyone she had cared about behind.

"Hey, are you okay," Jaune asked.

"Yeah… I just need a minute."

"Yeah, no, of course," Jaune said, "We should probably get some sleep."

Ruby simply nodded in agreement, setting her backpack on the chair beside her and sitting down at the closest window seat. Hearing an audible thudding noise, Ruby looked to see Jaune had chosen the aisle just a few rows behind her to fall asleep in.

Ruby reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the photo of her mother and held it close to her.

_ 5:45 AM _

As Qrow sat in the police cruiser, heading towards the Queens' G.D.T.F, he heard the news over the radio.

'Lieutenant Xiao Long, what is the status of the mission, over. Did you manage to capture Ruby and Jaune?'

'… That's a negative, over. I repeat, Ruby and Jaune escaped New York.'

Qrow started with a small chuckle that escalated into full-on laughter as he heard the good news.

"Quiet back there," The officer said.

"Nice job, kids. Good luck out there," Qrow chuckled to himself.


	8. A Detour

_ December 3rd, 2040 _

_ 6:15 AM _

The department was silent. The cops present were taking in the breaking news that played from Chief Jacques' office.

'Following an altercation between both Grimm and G.D.T.F officers that took place in the Grand Central Terminal, the Grimm managed to escape the authorities. We have asked the N.Y.P.D and the G.D.T.F for a statement, but unfortunately-'

Jacques stopped the TV before he looked towards Taiyang and Raven, "You had an entire night... to find two Grimm. Two. Fucking. Children. And somehow, not only two of my best task force members but two FUCKING precincts did not manage to capture two FUCKING GRIMM!"

"Sir, if I may, Sergeant Rose-" Raven began.

"Say another word, Branwen, and I will have you demoted to a fucking crosswalk officer," Jacques said, "Where have they gone…"

"Sergeant Rose bought them tickets for Haven. They should arrive within the hour or so," Taiyang said.

"Branwen, go inform the G.D.T.F there their new arrivals."

Raven nodded and proceeded outside of the office, leaving the lieutenant and the chief alone. Jacques stood up and walked towards the window to stare at the sunrise.

"Nineteen."

"What, sir," Taiyang asked.

"Nineteen. Nineteen years, I have been the chief of this department, lieutenant. For nineteen years, I have watched over this department. I have watched you and your task force become infamous in this cesspool of a city. I have watched the children of your brothers and sisters become adults. I cared about all of them, including your daughter Taiyang. But all of the events that have occurred because of Ruby is just too much to bear. I assume that you understand what I am saying."

"... If it is what I suspect, then at least give me one last chance."

"Your last chance ran out when your daughter escaped on a train."

"Let me go after her. Let me bring her back," Taiyang said.

"You think that I would allow you to take the entire—"

"It would just be me. All the other officers, including Branwen, will remain here in New York while I continue the pursuit. Think about it. If you let me go after Ruby and I bring her back, then today's damage could be lessened. Besides, with Qrow under arrest, we will need a new sergeant. I suggest that we see how Officer Branwen does in command."

Jacques did not look at Taiyang. He just said, "...Inform officer Branwen that she will be taking over as acting head of the task force in your absence so that I may see how she does as a leader. I am giving you until the end of this week, Tai, that gives you three days. If you come back empty-handed, then I will be expecting a resignation letter on my desk before Monday."

Taiyang nodded and walked out of the office to see a patiently waiting Raven.

"Well?"

"I have been allowed three days to go after them," Taiyang said as he walked towards the exit of the precinct.

"Should I come with you? You will need—"

"What I need you to do is to stay here and take charge of the task force. Schnee has decided to put you in charge while I am away."

Raven seemed shocked by this decision, "Tai, are you sure you will be okay?"

"I will be fine," Taiyang pecked Raven on the cheek.

"…When you get back, I have something that I need to tell you."

Tai nodded, "Okay. I have to go. I'm on a time limit."

Before Taiyang made it out of the door, he heard Raven, "Lieutenant Long!"

Looking back at her, Raven saluted to Taiyang, "Good luck in Haven, sir."

"And good luck here... Sergeant," Taiyang saluted back as he walked out of the precinct.

Getting into his car, Taiyang saw Summer sitting in the passenger seat and looking back at the precinct.

" _ Tai... let us go. _ "

Taiyang opened up his center console and pulled out his antidepressants prescribed to him by Dr. Leo.

Taking the recommended dose, Taiyang took a deep breath, and turned to see that Summer was gone.

"I'm coming, Ruby…"

_ 6:30 AM _

_ It had been about an hour or so since we escaped New York, and I failed to get any sleep ever since we left. There were too many thoughts swimming through my head as I stared outside into the winter scenery. The more that I stared out into the snow, the more I began to think about Jaune's plan. The snow would have covered our tracks, and by the time the G.D.T.F found out we were at the train station, we would have already been in Haven. But things never do go according to plan. There is always the chance of fate playing favorites, and so far, fate has been playing both sides. _

"Oh, for the love of…"

Ruby looked across the aisle at her traveling companion, Jaune, as he was rubbing the nape of his neck. Sitting up, Jaune groggily said, "These stupid chairs will never be comfortable, no matter how hard they try…"

"I would rather be in this uncomfortable chair than back out in that snowstorm last night," Ruby said.

"Yeah, you're right…" Jaune said as he looked out of his window, "it looks like things have calmed down, though."

As Ruby looked at Jaune as he stared out of the window, curiosity got the better of her, and she said, "Hey Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a question that I have wanted to ask you."

"You are a cop, aren't you," Jaune asked.

"Yes, Jaune, you caught me red-handed. I am a G.D.T.F Grimm spy," Ruby said.

"I also figured you were a rat," Jaune said before the two chuckled, "Okay, but in all seriousness, go ahead and ask."

"Why did you decide to leave now?"

This question seemed to surprise Jaune as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"When the G.G.B was announced a couple of months ago, there were all those reports of Grimm crossing the borders into Canada to try and get to Liberteria. But you decided to leave now…"

"I could ask the same of you. Why didn't you leave?"

"…I guess I just didn't want to."

Jaune looked at me with confusion as I continued, "I guess I was just thinking that something was going to happen and the bill wouldn't have passed. The more that I thought about leaving, the more I kept trying to convince myself that it would get better… but I was only lying to myself."

"If we didn't meet yesterday… would you have left?"

Ruby gave a quick breath before admitting to Jaune and herself, "No. I would have just stayed back and hoped that something would have happened. There were times where I hated what I was because of how the Grimm were being treated, times where I begged that I could be whatever is normal these days. But now... now I have no choice."

"…It was my little sister's birthday a few days ago. I was planning on leaving before, but I wanted to see my little sister grow up just a bit more, to see her smile just one last time. So I spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out the next opportunity to leave, and the timing had to be next to perfect. There was a storm advisory set up for this week, and I knew that was my way out. Yesterday, we had the party. Last night, I packed what I was going to take with me. And then when the hour struck nine, I left a note to my family and left through my window."

Ruby watched as Jaune wiped his eyes as he had begun to shed a few tears.

"So, why did you come to school then?"

Jaune reached into his bag and pulled out a picture and handed it to Ruby.

"Is this…"

"It's a family photo my mom gave it to me on my first day of elementary school. She told me that it was to remind me that no matter when or where my family will always love me. I figured that I might as well take it with me."

'The route to Haven is now seventy-five percent complete.'

Upon hearing the intercom, Jaune stood up and wiped his eyes, "Okay, before we get too emotional, it's time to improvise."

"What do you mean 'improvise'?"

"We didn't exactly leave New York discreetly. After that mess at Grand Central, I wouldn't be surprised if the G.D.T.F in Haven is already waiting for us."

"Shit... you're right," Ruby said as she stood up, "So what are you planning on doing? The only thing that can cut the brakes are the conductor androids, and we didn't leave the last droid and console in working condition."

"And Haven is most likely waiting for us to arrive so that they can catch us. So if the train can't stop until it reaches the destination, then the only way for us to get off would be… No, that's crazy," Jaune paced around the train, going up to multiple areas of the locomotive and mumbling to himself, "But what if… No, we wouldn't last a second. What if... oh god no. Okay, what if... Yeah. Yeah, okay… Okay, okay, okay, I know what we can do."

"Should I be concerned about what you have planned," Ruby said as she nervously saw Jaune beautiful minding right in front of her.

"Oh, don't worry about it... Okay, maybe worry just a bit. Just be ready and you may want to put your bag on and strap it on as tight as you can."

The two grabbed their bags and tightened them to their backs before Jaune walked up to the nearby train door. Placing his hand on the door, Jaune wrapped his other arm and leg around the pole closest to him.

"You may wanna hold onto something."

"Jaune? What are you—"

"Do you trust me?"

"I don't know."

"Good, because you would be crazy to trust what I am about to do, now hold on to the pole as if your life depended on it."

Ruby did so and held onto the pole next to her for dear life. Jaune wrapped his arm around the pole next to him, opposite of Ruby, and placed his palm on the door.

" _ Electricae. _ "

Ruby heard the door make a strange noise before it suddenly opened up, a brief, powerful suction rushing out as the cold air swept in.

When the two were stable, Ruby yelled, "Are you crazy?!"

"Only a little! Come on!"

Ruby carefully walked up to Jaune by grabbed one pole, pulling herself forward and rinse and repeat until she was beside Jaune, "What is the plan?"

Jaune poked his head out and seemed to smile before looking at Ruby, "If we stay on the train, then we will be caught the second we get off in Haven! And forcing the train to stop will just cause the G.D.T.F to rush to the train's destination sooner. So if we can't stop the train, we are going to have to jump!"

"Jesus Christ, Jaune, you are crazy!"

"Like I said, only a little… Okay, on three, we will jump, got it?"

"Oh god…"

"One!"

_ As I stared out into the rushing scenery of brown, white, and green, I felt like my heart was going to burst. The most intense thing that I did before all of this was going to a go-kart location with the family for my birthday, but that doesn't even come close to the adrenaline I was feeling. _

"Two!"

_ As I began to amp myself up and began whispering words of confidence to myself, I felt a physical pressure on my hand. I saw that Jaune had taken hold of it and held it tightly in his. I could see that he was as nervous about this as I was, so I responded by slowly wrapping my fingers around his and interlocking. _

"Three!"

The two jumped out of the train. Upon impact, Ruby felt a rough and hard gravely ground as the two tumbled down the side of the train tracks. Soon, the feeling of rugged rocks was replaced with a soft and wet feel as the two had rolled into the snowy grass.

Once the two came to had finally stopped rolling, Jaune was the first to move as he rolled onto his back. Watching as the train continued without them, Jaune smiled as he stared up into the grey snowing skies, letting out a single, audible noise.

"Ow."

Jaune heard faint laughter slowly getting louder and turned to see Ruby laughing while holding her side, tears shedding and a smile on her face as she just kept laughing.

"What?" Jaune asked, a smile forming on his face as well.

"…Ow…" Ruby said with the same monotone voice Jaune used.

Now both of them were laughing as they stayed there for a few moments to let their bodies absorb the new bruises that they got.

Ruby leaned up to look for any distinct landmarks. There was nothing around them but the frozen lake behind them and the train tracks that they had just leaped from.

"Well… seeing how we have no tracks to follow other than the train's, I suggest that we follow our former ride," Jaune slowly got onto his feet, shaking off the snow on his body.

"Here," Jaune said as he offered Ruby his hand.

While Ruby took hold of Jaune's hand, she used her free hand to scoop up a handful of snow. As soon as she was on her feet, Ruby smashed the handful of snow on top of Jaune's head.

"Agh! What the…"

Jaune began to wipe the snow off of his head as he heard Ruby starting to laugh again. Looking up at her, he couldn't help but form a smile on his face.

"Oh, you are so gonna pay for that," Jaune said as he quickly grabbed some snow under him and formed a ball.

_ It was a massacre, I tell you. The battle between friends was devastating. There was snow thrown left and right, up and down, horizontal and diagonal. Jaune managed to hit me a few times and vice versa. But little did I know that Jaune had an ace up his sleeve. _

Quickly hiding behind a tree, Jaune grabbed a clump of snow and formed it into a snowball. Taking the opportunity to use one of the few spells that he knows, Jaune whispered, " _ Nix _ ." The snow in his hand began to float as he had used his secret weapon.

"Think fast!"

Ruby was collecting a new snowball when she looked up just in the last second as the ball of snow was making contact with her. Being a spell, the snowball sent Ruby back a few feet.

"Oh my god… Ruby!" Jaune yelled as he ran over to his traveling companion.

Once he was right up next to her, he was staring in horror as Ruby had not moved, "Ruby?"

Ruby quickly faced Jaune with both of her hands extended, " _ AER _ !"

Jaune was sent up a few feet into the air, Jaune flailing around helplessly as he fell back onto the ground. Ruby laughed as she brushed herself off, "Using a spell during a game, Jaune? Have you no shame…"

"Ow… Okay, okay, I deserved that…" Jaune said.

"Now take my hand and accept your defeat," Ruby said with her hand extended.

Ruby was so caught up in her victory that she did not see Jaune hiding the snowball behind his back. As he was lifted, Jaune smirked, which sparked a sense of confusion in Ruby. Ruby was quite surprised when Jaune quickly tightened his grip and smashed the snowball on the center of her head. Ruby's expression shifted from a victorious smile to a distasteful glare towards Jaune.

"Now, we can call it a truce," Ruby smiled.


	9. The Hunter on the Prowl

_ December 3rd, 2040 _

_ 7:56 AM _

As Taiyang pulled into Haven, he felt as though the almost two-hour drive was excruciating. When Taiyang would go on long rides, he usually had Ruby on the phone, discussing some random topic she found or the latest gossip going around the school. If Ruby ended up being too busy studying for a test, Qrow would be reminding Taiyang about some old story of the two of them. If neither of them was available, Raven was always available to just discuss how her day was going.

But now, Taiyang was sitting in complete silence.

"Excuse me, sir, can I help you?"

Tai looked out of his window and saw a police officer was standing right outside of Taiyang's car. Rolling down the window, Taiyang showed the officer his badge.

"My name is Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long, I spoke with the Lieutenant here and informed him of the Grimm that will be arriving soon."

"Oh yeah, we heard that you would be arriving this morning."

"Has there been any developments on the Grimm who escaped?"

"They sent a couple of teams to the train tracks to wait for the train to show up. The Lieutenant should be monitoring the operation now. Follow me, and I will take you to them."

Taiyang followed the officer inside of the precinct and into the G.D.T.F department. Upon entering, the two saw all of the officers were watching the screens closely. One of them turned to the door and saw Taiyang.

"You must be the Lieutenant from New York. Lieutenant Leonard Church is the name," Church said as he offered his hand.

Taiyang shook Church's hand when they both heard another officer, "Lieutenant! The train is pulling up now!"

Church walked up to the front and grabbed the headset.

"Sergeant, what is your status, over."

'The train has come to a full stop… but we have no visual contact on the Grimm. We are entering the train now. Officers Griff and Tucker are approaching from the other end of the train. At the same time, Officer Lopez and I—' The Sarge's radio signal echoed from the monitor.

'Command, we have a problem,' Officer Griff's radio signal echoed.

"What problem," Taiyang asked.

"What is the issue, Griff," Church asked.

'Officer Tucker and I have entered cart four and have found that the side door is open. There are detections of an electrical malfunction caused inside of the cart.'

"Search that train, top to bottom, officer. We don't want to miss a single detail. Officer Simmons, send the Hunter to patrol the train tracks."

"You guys have a Hunter," Taiyang asked.

"You bet," Church said.

"Deploying Hunter Unit 01 to follow the exact route that the train came from."

_ 8:01 AM _

Ruby and Jaune were walking along the train tracks. Ruby was walking down the middle of the tracks while reading from her translation to try and learn new spells. While Ruby was reading, Jaune was having fun and was balancing himself on the right side of the tracks.

"What do you think Liberteria is like," Ruby asked.

"I don't know. If it's up north, then I can assume that it is going to be cold."

"Maybe we can ask our ally in Haven when we get there."

"Speaking of Haven, I have a question. How are we supposed to know where we are meeting the contact?"

"I received a message a few days ago from the Light. Attached to the message were instructions that said where we would be meeting the ally. I memorized it and flushed it down the toilet."

"Okay, let's hear it," Ruby said.

"The ally, known as the Transporter, will go to a coffee shop every Wednesday from nine to two and then go back to his home."

"And the name of the cafe?"

"The name of the cafe is called 'The Magic Bean.'"

Ruby came to a halt and stared at Jaune, "You're joking, right? I mean, why not just call it—"

"Hey, what is that up ahead," Jaune asked.

Looking down the tracks, Ruby saw a sign in the distance.

"Come on, let's see what it says."

The two jogged up to the sign for a closer look.

'Haven: 2 miles away'

Jaune walked a bit forward and turned back to Ruby, "Well, that's good to know. Since we know how far we are from Haven, maybe we can take a break. I know a few jokes to pass the time…"

But as Jaune began talking, Ruby looked behind him and saw something on the track. It was far, but the shape of it was indistinguishable, and it is what scared her.

"Jaune… we need to hide."

"What?"

"Quickly!"

Ruby did not say another word as she grabbed Jaune's hand and quickly ran off of the train tracks. Hiding behind a cluster of trees, Ruby quickly hid their footprints with the cloaking spell.

"Ruby, wh—" Ruby was very quick to silence Jaune as she had placed her gloved hand over his mouth and a finger upon her lips, motioning for him to stay quiet.

Jaune could see the fear in Ruby's eyes, knowing that whatever was coming towards them was something terrible.

Hearing the mechanical noise of the Hunter, Ruby closed her eyes and begged that they did not leave any trace of them at that point.

_ The Hunter Droid. I have only seen it on the news and heard about it from dad's stories. Even if I never saw one, the stories sent shivers up my spine. Dad once told me how he captured a Grimm that was on the run from Florida using the Hunter drone. The Grimm had been hopping trains, trying to get to Canada. When the Grimm arrived in the New York train yard, the Hunter was monitoring the train yard when it detected his footprints. The Grimm didn't even make it twenty feet from the train before he was taken down. _

_ The Hunter is a state of the art detection droid that has two sub-routines: Incapacitate and Kill. When the droid's directive is set for Incapacitate, its twin rounds will fire stun charges that can reach up to sixty thousand amps. It can disable anyone and any Grimm in only a few shots. When it is set for Neutralize, the droid will fire 7.62x51 NATO bullets that can pierce through you like a weight through a piece of paper. _

Looking towards the tracks, Ruby could see the Hunter drone's shadow floating down the tracks. As it got closer and closer to the two, Ruby felt her heartbeat go through the roof as they heard the drone's mechanical voice.

'Detection of footprints leading up to the current geological position. The probability of Grimm in the surrounding area has risen to eighty-seven percent. Authorization to activate Pulse required.'

_ 8:09 AM _

"The Hunter is asking permission to use the Pulse," Simmons asked.

"Permission granted," Church said.

_ 8:10 AM _

The Hunter began to make a strange noise that got excessively louder until a pulse was released.

There was an eerie silence. Jaune and Ruby were hoping that they were in the clear.

_ 8:11 AM _

"I GOT THEM," Simmons yelled, "They are on the tracks heading towards Haven."

"I need them alive," Taiyang said.

"Secure and incapacitate," Church said.

"On it, sir," Simmons said.

_ 8:11 AM _

The floating orb zipped behind the cluster of trees, now facing the two Grimm.

'Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. You are under arrest for—'

Ruby quickly stood up to try and use the electric spell. But before Ruby could even utter a spell, the Hunter fired a stun round into her stomach, sending Ruby flying back into a nearby tree.

_ The pain of the electricity was excruciating. It was like a dog was biting me with incredibly sharp teeth while leaving almost no marking. _

"Ruby!"

'Ruby Rose. Jaune Arc. You are under arrest for the crimes of grand theft, the intended assault against an officer of New York City, and for the assault of a G.D.T.F officer. Should you attempt to show resistance, this unit has been authorized to incapacitate.'

Feeling the pain beginning to nullify, Ruby looked towards Jaune and could see that his hand was already aiming at the ground. Jaune saw that Ruby was awake and could tell that the chances of attacking head to head with the Hunter were small. Knowing that Jaune was ready to attack the Hunter, but needed a distraction, Ruby slowly got up and yelled, "Hey! Over here, you floating testicle!"

The machine shifted its gaze back towards Ruby, giving Jaune an opportune chance to strike.

'Ruby Rose. Jaune Arc. You are under arrest for the crimes of grand theft—'

" _ Aqua _ !"

The snow melted beneath Jaune's feet and turned into water. Jaune quickly shot the water at the Hunter, sending it into a tree and cracking the exterior shell.

'Danger. Danger. This unit has been damaged. Commencing defense mechanisms.'

The Hunter was about to fire its stun rounds at Jaune but was interrupted as the Hunter suddenly was surrounded in electricity, causing it to short circuit and shut down. Jaune looked towards Ruby and saw her hand was extended towards the drone.

'Error… Error…'

Ruby, now holding the cluster of electricity in her hand, flicked her wrist and sent the electricity into the sky.

_ 8:15 AM _

The G.D.T.F stared at the monitor as the Hunter drone's systems shut down.

"What just happened," Church asked.

"They destroyed the Hunter drone, sir," Simmons said.

"Send the officers down the tracks."

"Rewind the feed by twelve seconds," Taiyang said.

Simmons did so, and Taiyang saw Ruby in the monitor. He saw Ruby's eyes were black and red, but instead of fear in her eyes, Taiyang saw a sense of pride in herself. Had she not been a Grimm, Taiyang felt as though he would have been proud of Ruby's creativity in taking down the Hunter drone.

"Don't worry, Tai, they can't get far," Church said.

_ 8:16 AM _

As Ruby and Jaune watched the Hunter slowly deactivating from the lack of power, Ruby held her stomach in pain as the feeling of being hit by stun round was still there. Feeling the pain of the voltage, Ruby began to fall to the ground. Luckily, Jaune caught Ruby before she fell.

"Are you okay," Jaune asked.

"My heart feels I drank twenty cups of coffee at the same time. Other than that, I'm fine, I suppose."

"So… care to explain what this thing is?"

"This… was a Hunter. It's tracking droid that the G.D.T.F uses when searching for Grimm outside of cities or towns."

"Great. Drones. Like we were not dealing with enough on this journey. Anything else that you might know about?"

"The Hunter uses two sensory receptors while tracking: iconic and echoic. If it can see its target, then it will attack. If the drone hears any noises during the search, it will triangulate on the origin of the sound within seconds."

"And that Pulse thing?"

"I assume that it tracks heat or heartbeats. I have never seen the Pulse work before, so I don't know what it is and what the range for it is."

"Well, at least that confirms that they were waiting for us…"

Suddenly, the Hunter booted up again, scaring both Grimm. But this time, only one light came on, and a loud beeping noise emanated from the droid.

"That's probably a tracker since we destroyed it. We better get going. Let's leave the floating… what did you call it again," Jaune asked with a chuckle.

A small blush forming on Ruby's face, she shook her arms up and down, "I was thinking on my feet!"

"Whatever you say," Jaune said as the two walked away from the train tracks and continued towards the city.


	10. A Coffee Break

_ December 3rd, 2040 _

_ 9:06 AM _

"Approaching the tracking beacon now," The Sarge said.

The group of officers slowly approached from multiple sides and slowly closed in on the tracker.

'Any sign of the Grimm?'

"Negative. Targets appeared to have disappeared."

Taking a few more steps, the group of officers came into contact with the destroyed Hunter.

"We have arrived at the tracking beacon, but they aren't here."

'SHIT! Where have they gone?'

_ 9:02 AM _

_ For once, luck was on our side. When we arrived in the city, military checkpoints were being set up. However, because they were still being set up, the officers were not focused on checking for identification, and we managed to get into the town without drawing suspicions. The moment that we entered the town, Jaune and I obtained a map, and we were on our way to The Magic Bean. _

"We should be getting close if we're… here," Ruby said as she pointed at the map, "and if the Magic Bean is here… then we should only have another four blocks."

"Oh great, only four blocks…"

"Oh calm down, it's a walk in the park for us at this point."

"How's your stomach doing?"

Ruby placed a hand on her stomach and felt the sore lump, "It still feels sore, but it is better than when we were on the tracks."

"If you need any help, let me know, okay?"

"Yeah… okay thanks."

Walking past a newspaper stand, Jaune and Ruby heard, 'Breaking news: Grimm on the run.'

Pretending to grab newspapers to see what was going on in Haven, Jaune and Ruby listened to the contents of the radio event.

'Earlier this morning, two Grimm managed to evade G.D.T.F officers with the aid of a Sergeant Qrow Rose. The G.D.T.F officer, and relative of one of the Grimm, gave them safe transport to Grand Central Station before buying them tickets to Haven. G.D.T.F officers were waiting for them to arrive but found that they had exited the train before it arrived in the station. Sergeant Rose was apprehended outside of Grand Central and is being questioned as we speak. Be on the lookout for these individuals. They are extremely dangerous and must be reported on sight.'

_ I did not need a screen to know that our faces were most likely on display. All I wanted to pull my hoodie over my head instinctively, but I knew that doing that would only draw suspicion. But I made a mental note to myself that this place was no safer than New York. _

"Come on," Jaune whispered.

"Yeah…" Ruby groaned as they continued towards the coffee shop.

_ As we got closer and closer to the shop, the more exhausted I felt. I was lying when I told Jaune about the pain… it was as if every fiber of my being just completely wanted to shut down. Luckily, we did not have to go much farther because before I knew it, we were standing outside of The Magic Bean. _

"Looks like this is the place," Ruby said, looking at the map, "The one and only."

"Well… let's go and meet our contact," Ruby said.

Ruby and Jaune walked into the coffee shop and saw that it was mostly empty, save for a couple who was having a conversation, and an older woman who was reading a newspaper. What set Ruby on edge was that all of the employees were androids, meaning that both she and Jaune could be identified if the authorities check the android recordings. Jaune tapped Ruby on the shoulder and nodded towards the woman reading the newspaper.

"That's them," Jaune whispered.

The woman Jaune was talking about was wearing a somewhat formal gown as she was drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. Her hair was nearly white, and he had a small silver locket around her neck.

"Just follow my lead."

Ruby followed behind Jaune as he walked up to the man and sat down at the woman's table. Upon noticing the two sit down, the woman lowered her newspaper to stare at the two secret Grimm with a confused look on her face.

"Excuse me, but I believe that you have the wrong table."

Jaune cleared his throat, "Sorry, we were just wondering if you had a light."

"A light? Beg my pardon, but I think that you are a little bit too young for smoking. And besides, who would need to smoke so early in the morning," The woman said as she looked back at her paper.

"Someone who just needs a Light."

Ruby watched the woman's expression change from confused to somewhat calm as she slowly lowered the newspaper to get a good look at the two.

"It clearly looks that way. It looks like you two have walked all the way from the West Coast."

"It certainly does feels that way," Jaune chuckled.

"Well, I must apologize as I do not have a light on me at the moment. Now I must ask that you please leave me alone," The woman said as she wrote something down in the newspaper.

Concerned, Ruby whispered, "Jaune, I—"

Ruby was interrupted by Jaune, who had nudged her with his leg. Seeing that they were not leaving, the woman now seemed upset and stood up.

"Very well, if you will not leave, then I shall."

The woman placed her newspaper down before she stood up and walked out of the cafe, leaving behind a silent Jaune and confused Ruby.

"Jaune," Ruby whispered.

But that is when Ruby noticed that while Jaune was facing towards the woman's chair, his eyes were looking down towards the table. Ruby did the same and saw that the woman had written something down on the paper.

'OUTSIDE'

'LEFT'

'ROUND BACK'

'TRUCK'

Jaune whispered, "Now…"

Ruby followed Jaune as the two of them stood up, and the two walked out of the coffee shop. Turning left, Ruby followed Jaune around the back of the coffee shop into the small coffee shop and saw a single truck was parked and leaning against the truck was the old woman. She saw the two and said, "Get in, quickly."

Ruby and Jaune got into the back of the car and shut the door behind them. The woman got into the front seat and sighed.

"I was expecting you both to be captured. After that stunt you two pulled in Grand Central, the G.D.T.F has been patrolling all morning. Grand Central was the two of you, am I right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, you don't have to worry... for now, at least. By the way, my name is Willow. Willow Adel."

"Jaune Arc."

"Ruby Rose."

"When I received word from my contact in Burlington, I was informed that I was going to be transporting only Jaune Arc. Who is the tagalong?"

"Ruby is a friend. She's like me."

Willow stared at Ruby in the rearview mirror, "Rose… I heard that a G.D.T.F sergeant with the same last name was arrested in New York. To add on, there is a lieutenant from New York who is here as well. You're the one that he's after, aren't you?"

"...Yes. He's my father."

"I don't think that I have ever heard of a G.D.T.F's daughter being a Grimm. Then again, I guess there is a first for everything."

"…"

"Not that it is any of my business, but might I ask who was it that caught you two? Everyone has a similar story. Was it parents? Friends? Significant other?"

"Someone I knew was pulling a prank on me and overheard both Jaune and I talking about leaving… I guess we should have expected that at the time."

"I see… in any case, how you were caught should no longer be a concern to either of you. What matters now is that you two managed to arrive here safely. That being said, both of you have been Haven's center of attention," Willow said as he turned on the radio.

'—utenant from New York, Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long, will be running the investigation in the search for his daughter and runaway Grimm, Ruby Rose, alongside another Grimm by the name of Jaune Arc. Haven G.D.T.F officers searched the train tracks using their standard issue Hunter drones and did manage to find them, but was ultimately destroyed by the Grimm. Citizens have been asked to keep a lookout for the two but to avoid any contact as they are considered extremely dang-'

"That's enough out of you."

"So, how does this transportation work?" Jaune asked.

"The way that this is usually done is that you stay in the safe house for a few days so that things can settle before transportation. However, with all of the recent news regarding the G.G.B, the plan might have to change."

"Wait, what do you mean? What happened with the G.G.B?"

"You two must not have heard. Last night, the Ironwood Administration announced that congress is going to be voting on the G.G.B even sooner than what was originally expected."

"What?"

"Senator Hill is outraged by this newest update regarding the bill. But because she does not have enough support, there is nothing that she can do at the moment."

"So, what does this mean for us?"

"What it means, Miss Rose, is that if the two of you do not cross the border by week's end, you may be in very hostile territory."


	11. Shelter

_ December 3rd, 2040 _

_ 9:45 AM _

The drive to the location was carefully thought out as Willow took shortcuts wherever she could to avoid as many cameras as possible. Meanwhile, Ruby and Jaune were hiding under a blanket to avoid being caught.

"Just a bit further, you two. I promise."

Jaune and Ruby sat in uncomfortable silence as they were laying on top of each other, as if they were a pile of planks, blushes on both of their faces even if they could not see it.

Reaching their destination, Willow pulled into the driveway of a house. Pulling up to the garage door, Willow pressed a button on the truck's console, and the garage door slowly opened up. Once the door was lifted, Willow pulled the truck into the garage and lowered the garage door.

"We're here," Willow said.

The two kids were quick to get off of one another as they got out of the truck.

"Please bring your belongings with you."

"Not a problem. It isn't like we brought much, to begin with," Jaune said as he got out.

Ruby quickly grabbed her bag and walked up to Willow, who was waiting by the door, patiently for her new guests to join her. As the three entered the house, Ruby was quite amazed by the interior design of the house. Its walls were an ivory oak color that complimented the black wood floor that extended up the staircase with the same interior on the second level of the house.

"How long have you lived here," Ruby asked.

"I was born and raised in this house. I would say around sixty-seven years."

"What was it like," Jaune asked, "To live in a time without Grimm?"

"Oh, believe me, the Grimm are not the first thing that people unanimously hated. Your lot is just this decade's hate. I am sure that they will shift their hatred back towards another race or religion in the future. But enough about that…"

"Do you live here alone?"

"No, my grandkids are here, and they look after me just as I look after them. Speaking of which," Willow said as she came to a stop and looked up towards the staircase, "Coco? Velvet?"

"Yes," A voice came from upstairs.

"Come downstairs, please."

Upon hearing the sound of someone walking down the stairs, Ruby looked up and saw the girl talking to Willow.

The two had met Coco Adel. She was wearing some brown pajama pants and a grey tank top. She had dark brown hair tied into a ponytail and her amber eyes staring directly at her own.

"Ruby, Jaune. Please meet Coco. She is human, but she does have a fascination with the Grimm, just like her grandmother. That is why she is almost always asking her sister to demonstrate small spells for her. Speaking of which, Coco, where is Velvet?"

"She is waking up right now," Coco said before looking at Ruby and Jaune, "So, are these two are the new arrivals?"

"Yes, they are."

Ruby took a step forward and extended her hand to Coco, "My name is Ruby Rose."

"Jaune Arc."

Coco took Ruby's hand and shook it, "Coco Adel."

"They will be staying with us for the night before I will be taking them up to Burlington."

"And what about Velvet? Will she be going?"

"We can worry about that later. For now, why don't we get these two to the guest room? They must be exhausted from the trip, I'm sure," Willow turned her attention back to Ruby and Jaune, "If the two of you will follow me, I will show you to your room."

"She means rooms, right," Ruby asked as Jaune followed Willow upstairs, "She means rooms, as in plural, right?"

"Relax, I'm sure you'll survive," Coco said, "So… from what I saw what you two did in New York, I thought that they were lying. Did you two really steal a whole train?"

"I wouldn't say that we stole it, more like… no, never mind, I can't think of a word other than stole," Jaune shrugged.

Ruby rolled her eyes as she looked to Willow, "So Mrs. Adel—"

"Oh no, there will none of those formalities in this house," Willow said, "You may call me Willow."

"Okay then, Willow, you said that Velvet is a Grimm?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then why didn't you turn her in?"

"Despite what many of us in the States believe, I see the benefits that the Grimm provides for humanity."

"Yeah, she won't turn Velvet in, but she won't let her head north either."

"That is enough, Coco!"

Seeing her grandmother was getting angry, Coco looked away in annoyance.

"Now, I am sure that our guests are rather tired. This here," Willow pointed at the door to her right, "is the guest room. It is where the two of you will be staying. It has all the necessities that you will need for your time here. Lights, a TV, and do not worry Ruby, there are two separate beds. See for yourself."

Willow placed her hand on the doorknob and opened the door, showing the inside of the room. Upon first glance, Ruby and Jaune knew that it was more than enough for such a short time.

"This is perfect," Ruby said as she set her bag down.

Pulling out what was left of the money Qrow gave her, she offered it to Willow, "Thank you for helping us."

"Oh put that away, Ruby. Any Grimm is a friend of the Adels, so long as you follow the rules."

"What are the rules," Jaune asked.

"I ask that the two of you not to use any spells. You are not allowed outside, not even the backyard. We cannot allow someone even the slightest chance of spotting you and identifying you. And finally, no shall we say... relations."

A crimson shade replaced the pale skin on Ruby's cheeks as she shook her head, "We promise that will not happen."

"Good, then dinner will be at six. Until then, feel free to rest. There is a shower at the very end of the hall; the washer and dryer are in the basement. If you have any questions, please let either myself or Coco know."

Willow proceeded down the staircase, leaving the three teenagers alone.

"Sorry about all that, we are just stressed out from the news about the bill," Coco said.

"Yeah, she mentioned what happened on the way here," Jaune said.

"Is the vote really going to be tomorrow," Ruby asked.

"From what the news was saying, it is. A lot of the senators are fed up with the protests and the attacks on the Institutes. A lot of them just want to sign it because it will be off of their plate."

"What about Senator Hill?"

"Angry is one way to put it."

"Really?"

"See for yourself," Coco pulled out her phone.

After unlocking it and handing it to Shana and James, they watched the conference that took place.

_ 8:30 AM _

"Welcome everyone to the emergency Senate meeting. We are here to discuss the recent updates of the Grimm Genocide Bill. I am to understand that you are not pleased with these results, Senator Hill?"

"…" Senator Hill stared at her written speech.

"Senator Hill, do you wish to comment?"

Placing her paper down, Senator Hill looked up at her fellow senators.

"As I sit here, I feel nothing but shame towards the actions that my fellow senators have made in the past twenty-four hours. It is no secret that I, not only, disagree with this bill. I also find it despicable and a disgrace to the mere idea of what the United States stands for. Our country is supposed to be a safe haven for those who wish for freedom, a UNITED country. Now, it is as if our the name of our country has become some ironic jo—"

"While I am sorry that you feel this way, Senator Hill, I highly doubt that when the Founding Fathers named this country, they were considering the possibility of this type of threat to the country. In the last three weeks—"

"I do not wish to interrupt you interrupting me, Senator Hargrove. But might I ask what exactly is threat do chained up Grimm give you? What diabolical plot are children, who are experimented on daily, planning while they are chained to the walls of their pitch-black cells? What plans are the dehydrated and malnourished adults planning when they can't even see where they go, what they eat, where they sleep?"

"I am not talking about the Grimm that we have arrested, Senator Hill, I am talking about the individuals who remain on the loose. What about those two Grimm that stole a train earlier today, Senator Hill? Two Grimm stole a whole train to flee from the authorities."

"While I do not approve of the actions that they made, I ask you what you would do. If you were backed into a corner, your chances of survival being to rely on your primal instincts to adapt and improvise. These people have a gift that we can never understand, and that is why I respect the Grimm. It is the same reason why you fear them. They aren't terrorists or criminals. They are men, women, and children who have gifts that you want. And when you back them into a corner, they will do things unpredictably—'

"Unpredictably? Senator Hill, they injured an officer while they were trying to escape authorities."

"And I know twenty prisoners that were test subjects for finding a cure. All men, women, and children with their tongues and fingers cut off because Doctor Arthur Watts believed that was our only solution for the Grimm. Listen, my fellow senators, I know that you are scared. We have all been scared of the Grimm. It is our basic nature as human beings to fear something that we do not know. Now, I am not asking you to simply forgive the Grimm who have used these powers for ill intent. I am asking you to imagine the good that they can provide to us."

_ 9:53 AM _

"Her statements seemed to have changed a few senators' opinions, but it is not nearly enough to make a difference at this point," Coco said.

"You mentioned your sister," Ruby asked.

Coco looked down, as if in defeat, "She can't stay here anymore. It's too dangerous for her to stay here, and I have been trying to convince Grandma that for the last two weeks. But whenever I bring it up, she either changes the subject or she gets angry. I think that she knows it's time, but she just wants to spend what little time we have left."

"Coco, can you come and give me a hand," Willow asked from downstairs.

"On my way, just give me a second," Coco called out to Willow. Looking back at the two, she sighed, "Look, all that matters is that you guys are safe for now. Just relax and maybe try and change into something more... clean."

With that final comment, Coco left the two Grimm to their personal affairs. While Jaune was taking off her bag, he lifted his arm and sniffed his armpit, causing him to gag, "I think Coco was onto something about the clothes…"

After the two walked into their room and placed their bags at the door, Ruby releasing an audible groan as she massaged her sore stomach. Looking to her traveling partner, Ruby watched as Jaune practically threw himself onto the left bed.

"Oh my god…" Jaune moaned.

Wanting to rest her feet as well, Ruby walked over and sat down on the right bed, but as soon as Ruby made contact with the soft fabric, she too released an audible moan.

"Hey, Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I am in heaven."

Ruby chuckled, "I was thinking the same thing… At least we did a lot before we died."

"Eh, not really, we only evaded the G.D.T.F multiple times, stole a train, jumped out of that same train, and took down a Hunter drone. Not the plan that I was originally expecting."

"What was the plan that you were expecting?"

"The one where I didn't have to steal a damn train."

Ruby began to laugh at Jaune's quick response, causing Jaune to join in as well.

_ These were the moments that I treasured most during my journey. Sure, it was only a few hours at this point, but I cherished every minute of them. As I sat there next to him, I couldn't help but think that I would never have met Jaune if it wasn't for Ciel pranking me. I wish I could thank her someday, but even then she would probably assume that I was about to kill her because of my obvious Grimmish lust for death and destruction. As I sat there beside Jaune, I couldn't help but have a small feeling deep inside. Something that I both wanted to know and did not want to know. _

When their laughter had died down, Ruby looked at Jaune as he laid there on the bed.

"Jaune, there's something that I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"I… I just wanted to say that I appreciate that you brought me with on this journey. I know that it was a risk, and I even almost got us caught."

"Don't worry about that anymore. It is in the past now."

Looking at Ruby, Jaune could tell she had something else to say.

"What is it?"

"I… I was just wondering when we arrive in Liberteria, what is going to happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean… I guess what I am trying to ask is what your plan is?"

Jaune looked at Ruby with a look of confusion, "Uh… I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Why were you wondering?"

Ruby opened up her jacket pocket and pulled out the photo of her mother and handing it to Jaune. The instant that he saw the photo, he knew who it was.

"Is this…"

"My mother. She died when I was little. Shortly after, my grandparents took almost everything that belonged to her. That photo is the last thing I have of her."

"Jesus…"

"When she died, everything changed. I was distant in class and avoided almost all contact with the other kids. My teachers knew about my mom and became concerned for me. They told my dad, and he assigned me a therapist, which just resulted in endless sessions and expensive medicine that made me feel like crap. Then, I was just that drugged up kid with mommy issues… I was alone, even before I found out about what I was."

Ruby wiped her eyes as she realized that she had begun to feel her cheeks burn with her tears and that her voice grew louder as she continued.

"One day, my father comes home and tells me that congress is forming something called the Grimm Genocide Bill. When he said what it was, I wasn't angry or sad, no, I was… I was happy. It is the first time that I am admitting that aloud, but I was happy because then… then I could be with her again because then I wouldn't be alone anymore…"

Jaune turned to say something but decided against it.

"I realize now how stupid I was for thinking that, but I just hated being alone. But as we get closer to our goal, there is a similar feeling that I have been having."

"What?"

"That once we make it across, you would just forget about me… and I would be alone again. And I don't think that I can handle that again…"

As Ruby wiped the tears from her eyes, she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. Knowing that it was Jaune's hand on her shoulder, she turned and embraced Jaune in a hug. Staring at the photo as it rested on the bed, Jaune made a decision. Breaking away from the hug, Jaune looked at Ruby with a smile.

"Ruby, you don't have to worry about being alone anymore."

"It's easy to make a promise Jaune. It's keeping the promise that is difficult."

"Then let me prove it," Jaune said as he stood up.

"Jaune, what are you doing?"

"I, Jaune Arc, promise that I will do everything that I can to protect you and to always remain by your side until the end."

_ As I stared at his childish smile, I could not help but chuckle at his attempt to cheer me up. I think that it was his humor that helped keep me sane throughout the journey so far. So I decided to let him have this one… _

Ruby slowly stood up and faced her partner with a tearful smile on her face, "A-And I, Ruby Rose, promise that I will do everything that I can to protect you and remain by your side until the end."

The two grabbed the other's hand and shook, sealing the promise between them. When they let go of one another, they realized how awkward what they did was.

"Well, I uh… I think that I am going to go hop into that shower that Willow was talking about," Jaune said.

A small tint of red on her cheeks, Ruby looked away and tried to think of a good response, "Um Yeah, that does sound like a good idea… go ahead and do that. I need to make sure I didn't lose my book."

Jaune grabbed a cluster of clothes from his bag and proceeded out through the door, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts.

A few minutes passed, and Ruby was reading more Latin when she heard a knock on her door.

"Jaune, did you forget something," Ruby asked as she approached the door.

Opening it, Ruby did not see Jaune but instead saw a girl. This girl seemed to be maybe a year or two younger than her. Her chocolate brown hair let loose, but managing to stay clear of her dirt-colored eyes.

"Hello," The girl said.

Confused, Ruby asked, "…Hello, can I help you?"

"Are you new people?"

"One of them, yes."

"My name is Velvet."

_ Just upon first glance of Velvet, I realized now why Willow was so protective of her. It was the same reason that Coco wanted her to leave as soon as possible. They both tried to protect her in their own way because she was just a child. _

"You have eyes like me," Velvet pointed to her own eyes, "Well, I mean, I am hiding them, here watch.  _ Pulvis _ ."

As her eyes turned black and red, small specks of stuff flew from the ceiling to Velvet's hand, collecting into a small ball of dust that levitated off of her hand. 

"See?"

Chuckling, Ruby extended her hand towards Velvet's, " _ Pulvis _ ."

The ball of dust split in half before one side flew into Ruby's, her eyes now actually the same as Velvet's dust ball. Velvet saw this and started clapping as Coco walked into Ruby's view and placed her hand on Velvet's shoulder, "There you are. Are you bothering the new arrivals?"

Deciding that this could be a chance to socialize with her good samaritans, Ruby chuckled, "No, she was fine. She was just asking a couple of questions."

"Okay, well, she can get to be a little bit too chatty sometimes."

"I am not," Velvet crossed her arms.

"It's fine, really. Would you two like to come in?"

Coco looked down at Velvet, who was already walking in with a smile on her face, "Sure."

The three girls sat down on opposite beds.

"So, you guys are members of The Light," Ruby asked.

"No, but Grandma knows the leader of Burlington's hideout. Saved his life, actually."

"Really?"

Coco began, "Yeah, it was back in 2035, but I think I will wait until dinner to finish it, or rather have Grandma finish it. Speaking of which, hey Velvet, I believe Grandma wanted you to help her downstairs."

As Velvet ran off to help Willow, Coco stood up and walked up to the window and stared out of it.

"I know that she can't stay here anymore. The G.G.B is going to pass, and all those Grimm trapped in the Institutions will be killed. And neither you, or Jaune, or Velvet will be safe here after this week. I just wish that Grandma could understand that."

"Your grandmother wants to spend as much time as she can with Velvet before she has no choice-"

"It was no longer her choice the moment they proposed that damn bill," Coco snapped.

Coco paused for a moment as she watched a family of three walking down the sidewalk.

"Velvet doesn't deserve this life…"

"None of us do."

"You're right," Coco wiped her eyes, "What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Living with a G.D.T.F officer."

"...When I first found out, I was terrified. I found almost every excuse to stay away from him. I mainly just said that I wanted to focus on my school work."

Coco was about to speak when the door opened, and Velvet walked in, "Grandma said that you were lying!"

"Oh, was I lying? Or was Grandma lying?"

"I… you… Ugh…" Velvet lowered her head in defeat.

"Here, let's see what's on the TV. That will improve everyone's mood… hopefully."

Coco grabbed the remote and turned on the TV and began to scroll through the channels. But one channel caused Ruby's eyes to widen.

"Stop! Go back."

Coco did so and Ruby saw who was on the screen.

'—tement from the convicted G.D.T.F officer, Qrow Rose, just now.'

_ 9:46 AM _

"Mr. Rose, you claim that you did nothing wrong. How do you explain that?"

"When I joined the G.D.T.F, I swore an oath. To protect the lives of the innocent and keep them from those who wish to harm them. Ruby Rose is my niece as much as she is a Grimm, but because of this recent discovery, I do not hold some uncovered hatred towards her. I will not simply cast away all the love that I have towards her because she is something that she had a choice to be. I see her not as a threat, but as an example of what our country would be like if we gave the Grimm a chance. Ruby went to the same school as my son, the same train route as my brother-in-law. She attended the same family events that the G.D.T.F has hosted. The only time she was even considered a threat to us then was what it was time to eat," Qrow gave a small chuckle, "Grimm are not the monsters we believe them to be. Did I help a Grimm? Yes, I did. Did I disobey my oath? No, I did not. I protected the life of an innocent."

"My client will not say any more in the matter," Qrow's lawyer said as he was escorted away.

_ 10:06 AM _

'Shortly after Mr. Rose's statement, our local news reporters managed to receive a follow up statement from Taiyang Xiao Long just a few hours ago.'

"Let me guess, that's your dad," Coco asked.

Ruby looked at Coco with an expression that could only be described as 'not now.'

'Lieutenant Long, how do you feel about Mr. Rose's statements regarding your daughter?'

'The events that have transpired in these last twenty-four hours give me nothing but heartache. I trusted my brother in law with my life. However, he not only refused a direct order from me as his superior but also aided and harbored known terrorists. He put the lives of others at risk, which greatly injured a G.D.T.F officer. While she may have acted innocent, Ruby is undeniably a danger to society. She must be returned to New York where she and Mr. Arc will be treated for their disease at the New York Institution.'

'Rumors are beginning to spread regarding your possible involvement in your daughter's escape. Is it true that you knew about your daughter's secret and chose to do nothing about it?'

'No, I had no idea that my daughter was a Grimm.'

'Then how come she was not tested when you became a member of the G.D.T.F, let alone an officer? I thought that all officers and relatives have to be tested, or am I mistaken?'

'No. You are correct. My daughter was not tested because when my late wife was still pregnant with Ruby, she was tested. The results were counted for both of them. We did not expect something like this to happen.'

'Lieutenant, has there been any progress made in catching these dangerous criminals?'

'The last confirmed position was from a destroyed Hunter Drone that had visual confirmation of Miss Rose and Mr. Arc. Our next course of action is checking the CCTV cameras throughout the city to see where they may have gone. As slow as this process is, we are nevertheless catching up to them. It's only a matter of time before they are in G.D.T.F custody.'

"He's scary," Velvet said.

_ There was a loud ringing in my head as I felt nothing but pain in my heart and tears in my eyes. I could tell you that I wanted to scream in anger or sadness and curse up a storm. But if I said any of those things, then I would only be lying to you. The only thing that I felt was sadness. I wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare to sound of that stupid alarm clock. I tried to watch one more old movie with dad. I wanted anything other than this… _

"Uh… hey Velvet, why don't you show Ruby the translation book you have."

"Oh yeah! Let me go get it," Velvet said as she ran out of the room.

"It was a gift from the leader in Burlington to Willow when he found out about Velvet's powers."

Velvet came back into the room with a book in her hands. Shortly behind her, Jaune walked in with a fresh set of clothes on.

"Hey, what did I miss?"

Ruby quickly turned off the TV and turned to Jaune, "Oh, just some more of the news."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. Anyways, Velvet, what is it that you have there," Ruby asked.

"This is my translation book," Velvet said as she handed it to Ruby.

Upon opening it, Ruby was amazed by the detail in the book.

"Jaune, come look at this…"

Jaune walked up and looked down at the book, and his eyes became saucers by just looking at the detail.

"Oh my god… it has pronunciations, how to cast each spell, and warnings. This is amazing."

Ruby flipped through the pages before one spell caught her eyes.

"Place hand on an object you wish to camouflage and say… here hold this," Ruby handed Jaune the book.

Ruby took a step back and placed one hand on the other and said, " _ Invisibilis _ ."

Ruby didn't see any difference or feel any different and just sighed, "Did I say it wrong?"

"Ruby?"

Ruby looked up to see the three other people in the room staring at "her".

"What?"

"Where did you go," Jaune asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're invisible," Coco said.

Jaune flipped the book and continued reading, "Once the spell is spoken, then the individual shall remain unseen to the naked eye. However, if the individual makes any fast movements, then the spell shall wear off."

"Like this?"

Ruby quickly moved her foot, causing Jaune to jump back.

"There you are," Coco said.

"Let me see what else there is."

As she skimmed through the book, one spell surprised Ruby.

' _ Sanguis (Sang goo ees) Aim your hand at the person or animal that is threatening you and say the spell. Target shall stop in place and be in your control. Warning: Spell is considered dangerous in Liberteria and has been categorized as an illegal spell due to its gruesomeness. _ '

"Blood."

"What?"

"There is a spell that controls blood."

Not wanting Velvet to hear anymore, Coco cleared her throat. Noticing that, Ruby looked at Velvet, "Velvet, would it be okay if Jaune and I can continue to look at these. We want to be as powerful as you."

Velvet looked to Coco to see what she would say. Watching Coco give an approving nod, Velvet nodded in approval as well.

"Great."

"Come on, Velvet. We should leave these two alone."

"Come by again, and thanks for letting us look at the spells," Ruby said as she shut the door.

Ruby continued to read the spells when another spell piqued her interest.

' _ Memoria Damnus (Memo-rE-ah Damn-nus) Place your hand on the back of the subject's head and say the spell as well as the subject that you wish for them to forget. Example: Memoria Damnus Dog _

_ WARNING: You will view the entirety of the subject's memories as the spell triangulates on the specific memory.' _

"Are you okay, Ruby? You look a little TOO into what you're reading."

"Y-Yeah, it's just that…some of these spells sound a bit unreal."

"Why don't we put down the book and you go take a shower," Jaune said as he grabbed the book.

"Fine… Is it right to assume that the shower is worth it?"

"Let me tell you something, Ruby. After running for hours through a snowstorm, from the G.D.T.F, and along a train track, I am never taking a nice hot shower for granted ever again."

"Okay, then I will see if it lives up to the hype."

Walking into the bathroom, Ruby locked the door behind her. Turning the shower on and feeling the heated water was already set for her, thanks to Jaune, Ruby began to strip out of her clothes.

_ Showers were always a great place to help me think, the only place where I could think to myself, where I could truly be alone with my thoughts. As I was in that shower, all I could think of was the journey Jaune, and I made at this point. Jaune and I had come such a long way in such a short time with still quite a ways to go. As I thought about everything that we had been through, my mind shifted towards Jaune and his goofy smile. _

_ As I sit here, all I could remember was the last goofy smile he gave me… I just wish that it didn't come with the tears in his eyes. _

Ruby grabbed the shampoo and began to wash her hair.

'Jaune was right. That shower was worth the long trek to this moment.'

When she was done, Ruby turned off the shower as she stepped out, drying herself off with the nearby towel. Reaching into her backpack, Ruby pulled out a pair of pajamas. Slipping them on, Ruby grabbed her dirty clothes and proceeded out of the bathroom. Walking back into her room, she saw Jaune was reading the spellbook.

"Hey, I'm going to go wash these. You want me to wash your stuff too?"

"Oh, if you don't mind," Jaune said, "By the way, your eyes are still Grimm."

"I know, and by the way, you were absolutely right. That was so great…" Ruby sighed in relief as she picked up Jaune's clothes.

Walking downstairs, Ruby saw Willow was chopping up some onion while wearing safety goggles. Beside her was Coco and Velvet, Coco peeling potatoes, and Velvet was passing potatoes to her.

"Oh Ruby, I see that you have tried out the shower. How is it," Willow asked.

"It was great. Again, we really appreciate your hospitality."

"I am glad to be helpful. If you have dirty clothes, you can use the washer and dryer in the basement. Velvet, show Ruby where it is."

"Okay."

Ruby followed after Velvet down into the basement and saw the washer and dryer. Opening the washing door and placing the clothes in, things were calm before a sudden slam, which caused Ruby to turn and see Coco run down.

"Do not start that," She said.

"What?"

Coco placed a finger on her lips and pointed up. Listening carefully, Ruby heard Willow opening the door.

_ 10:45 AM _

"Oh! Good afternoon officers, how are you today on this fine winter afternoon?"

"Hello there, are you Willow Adel?"

"Yes, that is me. Might I ask who you are?"

"Apologies, ma'am, I am Officer Griff, and this is my Sergeant."

"Ma'am, we received a report that you came into contact with two extremely dangerous individuals in a coffee shop earlier this afternoon."

"Well, I did interact briefly with two kids at the coffee shop. But I can't say that I know them."

"We have surveillance footage from the Magic Bean showing that you had a conversation with a Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc," the Sergeant handed Willow the wanted poster.

"Oh yes! I remember those two. They came and asked me if I had a lighter for them."

"Did they ask for anything else?"

"Why no, now that I think about it, they did not. They just asked for a lighter, I said no and asked them to leave. They didn't, so I left."

"Well, do you have an idea where they may have gone?"

"Sir, I know that you are simply doing your job, but I am cooking something, and I need to get back to it. I don't know where they went, but I promise that I will call you the moment that I spot them again."

"Thank you, ma'am, any detail helps us track down these vermin," Sergeant said.

Willow nodded and shut the door. Walking back to the kitchen and slowly cutting the onion, Willow stomped down on the ground twice.

_ 10:56 AM _

Ruby, Coco, and Velvet walked upstairs to see Willow.

"Well, that was uncomfortable," Willow smiled.


	12. No Safe Haven

_ December 3rd, 2040 _

_ 7:37 PM _

_ As I sit here, I begin to wonder how this all went wrong. The things that we did, the decisions that we made that led up to this point. Was it fate, or was it just because of bad luck? _

Velvet was standing next to Ruby's bed; her hand extended towards a glass of water that sat on the bedside table that she had poured for a new spell she had read in her book.

" _ Frigidus _ …"

The water within the cup froze completely solid. As Velvet cheered, Ruby was aiming her hand at her cup of water and said the same spell.

" _ Frigidus _ …"

The water in her cup froze solid, causing her to cheer alongside Velvet. Meanwhile, Jaune and Coco were sitting on the bed, watching their sister and friend cheering.

"Next time Officer H2O shows up, boy, will he be in trouble," Coco said.

"Well, the body is mainly water, so," Ruby said.

"I was joking," Coco said.

Hearing a knock, the four looked to see Willow open the door.

"Dinner is… oh, what is happening here?"

Coco flopped off of the bed and waved her arms, "Grandma, thank god you are here! Velvet started a Grimm uprising, and I could not stop them!"

"Rawr," Velvet said as she gave a small 'Rawr' face.

Willow chuckled, "Well look, I know that you all enjoy using your powers, but we agreed that there would be no magic. So would you please…?"

The three Grimm changed their eyes back to human eyes, putting a smile on Willow's face, "Great. Dinner is ready for all of us. Follow me, please."

_ 1:07 AM _

Taiyang stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, his exhaustion getting to him as he stared at Summer that stood out of the corner of his eye.

" _ Tai _ ."

"You aren't real."

" _ Tai, you must stop this. If you continue, then all you will find is pain _ ."

"I have to stop her."

" _ Why? _ "

"Because I… I can't lose her…"

" _ Tai _ ," Summer said as she got closer to Taiyang.

Taiyang slowly turned around, and she was standing there clear as day. As beautiful as the day he lost her. Summer reached her hand towards him, and he could swear that he felt her hand make contact, making Taiyang gasp as a tear streamed down, "I am so tired, Summer…"

"L _ et us go _ … _ I can't bear to watch you be in pain anymore. _ "

"Summer..." Taiyang mumbled as he reached his hand up towards Summer.

Hearing the bathroom door's handle turn, Taiyang quickly composed himself and turned to see Church and two well-dressed men walk in, "You all right there, Lieutenant?"

"Yeah," Taiyang said as he looked back and saw Summer was gone. Being quick to act, Taiyang used his raised hand to rub his eye, "I just haven't gotten much sleep lately. Anyways, have you made any progress with finding Jaune and Ruby?"

"I have to give it to her, Lieutenant. Your daughter is a smart one," Church said as he walked towards the urinals.

"No camera detections, few recognitions that resulted in nothing. But…" Church said as he began to do his business at the urinal, "I do have some news. First off, the fine gentlemen who join us in this restroom are Agents Washington and Maine."

"FBI. We have been working on a case here regarding a possible ally of The Light. We believe that your daughter has come into contact with them," Agent Washington said.

"And how does this help us locate them? We have been looking for hours and—"

"We know. That is because you are focusing on Miss Rose and Mr. Arc when you should have been focusing on who they spoke with."

_ 8:10 PM _

The four followed Willow down the stairs and into the dining area to see that there was a small feast set up for all of them.

"I figured that you two had not had a proper meal in the last few hours, so I made it special. Have a seat."

Jaune was the first to move as he practically sprung to his chair, waiting patiently for the go-ahead to eat. Ruby rolled her eyes as she took her spot beside Jaune while Velvet and Coco sat across from them and Willow at the head of the table.

With a smile on her face, Willow clapped her hands, "Dig in."

_ The taste of those potatoes is still in my mouth. The asparagus was cooked at just the right temp for just the right amount of time. The chicken was... amazing. It was delicious. Then again, after eating energy bars for the last day or so, I would have eaten Jaune. _

"So Willow," Jaune began as he swallowed his food, "has there been any new updates on the G.D.T.F?"

"According to the news, they started to make progress on the CCTV cameras since they managed to ID both you and Ruby near one of the entrances to the town."

"Is that bad? Do you think that they will find us?"

"The CCTV cameras are slow, but we can't rule anything out. I recommend that I take you tomorrow before sunrise."

"Does The Light know that we are coming?"

"I will be sending a message to them a message tonight. They will be expecting the two of you within the next day or so."

Coco scoffed, something that Willow noticed but decided not to approach, "You know what the funny thing is about the Grimm? No one knows how they came to be. There was no phenomenal event or new medicine tested. They just… appeared one day. Then, more and more around the globe began to sprout up. I believe that it is that fear of the unknown that has prompted such a harsh response in humanity. Humanity has always seen itself as the apex predator. So when something better, something that humanity cannot understand, appears… humanity responds with methods like the G.D.T.F, the Institutions, and now the G.G.B is what humanity expects to be the solution to this 'issue.' I understand that this might make you all concerned about the next few days. With the G.G.B going into its final vote soon, things are far more stressful than they usually are for both us as well as for this country. But I promise you that things will get better soon. Once The Light transports the four of you across the border, things will be better for everyone."

"That is all I can hope for at this point," Ruby said.

"Willow," Jaune asked, "how did you come into contact with The Light?"

"As you all know, The Light started out in Vermont as a small group of Grimm that was slowly gaining more and more members while remaining undetected. In 2036, there was—"

"The March on Beacon Street…"

"Yes… I still remember that massacre as if it was yesterday. I was watching the aftermath of the protest on the news. The G.D.T.F officers were arresting the Grimm that were still breathing and dragging off the ones that were killed. At the time, I had only heard about the Grimm, so I had conflicting feelings. Then, I heard something outside and decided to see what it was. When I went to the side of the house, I saw that it was, in fact, a Grimm. He had a bullet wound in his side and fear in his eyes. He looked at me and asked me for help."

"What did you do," Jaune asked.

"What do you think," Ruby asked, chuckling.

"He asked me for help, so I did. I brought him into my home and tended to his wounds to the best of my abilities. It took him nearly three days to get back on his feet. When he did finally recover, he told me that he was in my debt. He offered me money, but I refused. He then offered me a safe passage to Liberteria, despite me being a human, but I declined that as well."

"What happened after that," Ruby asked, enjoying this tale.

"He said that he understood my decision before he asked me what I would like in exchange. We began to discuss various topics before I asked what it is that the Light does. When he finished explaining what they do, I offered him my home and my services to both Liberteria and The Light. He asked me why I would risk my life and freedom as a reward, and I told him that every Grimm in the States risks their life and freedom on a daily basis, either trying to escape or get by. I told him that I most likely did not have that much time left and would rather spend what little is left of my good years helping every Grumm that I can for as long as I can. Since then, I have been an ally of The Light for a good... seven years now."

"Have you ever been to Liberteria," Ruby asked.

"No, I have not, and I very much doubt that I shall see it before I die. The journey alone would be too much stress for me to handle, and I would rather pass in my sleep in a place that I am familiar with."

Realizing how the discussion was getting too dark for one individual at the table specifically, Willow smiled, "But we will not be focusing on that topic anymore. I have a lot of planning to do, and I am sure that you two are tired. Coco, I would like to speak with you privately to discuss an alibi for me should the authorities return while I am away."

"Fine," Coco said.

"I can't believe this is going to happen," Ruby said.

"Don't jinx it," Jaune said, "Hey, are you going to eat the broccoli?"

"Touch it, and you lose the hand," Ruby said coldly.

"You two are funny," Velvet chuckled.

The three laughed as they continued eating.

_ 8:45 PM _

"What," Coco asked.

"You and Velvet will be going North. I discussed this deal with Hazel, and he has agreed to take you and Velvet to Liberteria."

"But... But what about you," Coco asked.

"As I said. I will remain here until the end," Willow said.

"But..."

"The reason why I have waited so long, Coco, is because I have been waiting for Liberteria's council to decide on bringing you in. I was informed about three days ago," Willow said.

"I... I don't know what to say."

"Then say nothing and get your bags packed. We have a big day tomorrow," Willow smiled.

Coco nodded and walked towards her room. Willow watched her granddaughter run into her room and smiled.

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 12: 43 AM _

Taiyang rubbed his eye as he drank a fresh cup of coffee and watched the monitors while Agent Washington watched closely.

"So... we have three good angles of Ruby and Jaune. One angle shows them walking into a coffee shop, one shows them walking by a park, and one shows them entering the city. The coffee shop is the most recent, but the fastest. However, the android workers have a visual recording showing them sit down and discuss something with this woman," Washington brought up a photo of Willow.

"The person on screen is Willow Adel. She is an elderly woman who runs a smalltime B&B with her grandchildren, Coco and Velvet Adel. When asked about their interaction, Adel said that they asked for a cigarette, and that was essentially it. We cannot confirm or deny this claim because the machines at the shop were unable to pick up most of the conversation."

"So she is off the list of people of interest," Taiyang suggested.

"Wrong. She is at the top. Shortly after their interaction, the recording shows Ruby and Jaune leave the shop. Cameras outside showed them walk in the opposite direction of Mrs. Adel, but then they just vanish. From another entrance to that alleyway, Mrs. Adel leaves in her truck... alone."

"You think that the two hid in the back? This is going to be hard to convince Chief Lopez to give us an arrest warrant."

"I am the one who gives the green light. Now, here is what we are going to do..."

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 1:12 AM _

The house was quiet, and everyone was asleep. At least, it was quiet until the phone began to ring. Willow's eyes were quick to open as she stared at the phone.

_ 1:13 AM _

"No answer, Agent Washington," Simmons said.

"Call again," Agent Washington said, "Patrol 3, I want you at the ready. Should the need arise."

'Yes, sir,' Sarge said.

_ 1:15 AM _

The phone rang again, and Willow stood in front of the phone. Willow began to extend her hand towards the phone. But just as her fingers grazed it, she knew something was wrong, so Willow quickly grabbed the cable that connected the phone to the wall and unplugged it.

_ 1:16 AM _

"The line just went dead," Simmons said.

"She's onto us," Washington said, "Patrol 3, move in."

_ 1:15 AM _

Ruby was sleeping before she was shaken awake to the sight of Jaune screaming, "Ruby! Wake up!"

Exhausted, Ruby groaned as she asked, "…What?"

"It is the G.D.T.F," Ruby heard Coco, "They found us."

Ruby, hearing this, was now fully awake upon hearing this news.

"How?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter now. What does matter is that they're coming, and we have to get out of here," Coco said.

"Ruby heads up!"

Turning towards Jaune, Ruby was quick to grab her bag that Jaune had thrown to her. Once she had secured her bag onto her back, Willow and Velvet ran into the room with Willow holding a revolver in her hand.

"We don't have much time. Let's go."

"Grandma? What is happening," Velvet asked, terrified.

Willow kneeled down and gently stroked Velvet's hair, "You and your sister will be going on a trip with these two."

Coco looked to her grandmother with a look of confusion as the group walked down the stairs, "You're coming with us, right?"

"No," Willow said as they made it to the garage entrance, "I will buy you some time, but you must leave the city as fast as you can."

"Grandma—"

"There is no time to argue, Coco," Willow said

As Willow grabbed the garage door handle, the five heard a pound against the door.

"Mrs. Adel, we're here to take you to the precinct for questioning."

_ As I looked towards Willow, I could see the fear in her eyes. She knew what was coming, and, deep down, I did too. _

"I will handle the police. Hide in the garage. I will join you four shortly."

Willow hid the revolver in a pocket of her gown as she approached the door, allowing the four children to hide in the garage.

As the four were standing still in the garage, trying their hardest to make as little noise as possible. Ruby had her ear against the door, Jaune was pacing back and forth, mumbling incoherent sentences that had the word "shit" in them, while Coco was comforting Velvet, who was on the brink of tears.

"Hello?"

"Where are they, Adel?"

"Where are who, officer?"

"We know that you are harboring Grimm here, Mrs. Adel."

"I am afraid that I—"

"The Grimm, Adel, where are they?"

"Excuse me, officer, but it is currently one in the morning, and I don't think that you have sufficient evidence to accuse me of anything. I suggest that you tell me how you have come to this conclusion before-"

"Coco," Velvet cried from the garage.

"What was that?"

"My granddaughter most likely woke up from the noise."

"Let's go check it out, Grif."

"Excuse me. You can not just barge into my home. This is an invasion of priva-" Willow began to say before she was shoved aside by one of the officers.

The four heard two sets footprints leading up to the door, prompting the Grimm to back away from the door quickly.

"Ruby is there anything to help us here," Jaune whispered.

"No," Ruby said after looking around.

Ruby looked to Coco, who was covering Velvet from any possible harm.

"Officers, I will be reporting to Chief Lopez about this if you do not leave right now."

"Stay back, Ma'am. Now!"

"Command, we have a noise disturbance coming from the garage. Proceeding to check it now."

_ There was nothing for us to use, so all we could rely on was Coco as she had her gun aimed at the door.  _

As the group saw the doorknob slowly turn, the four readied themselves for whatever was going to come through that door.

"I told you to leave," The group heard Willow say before a sudden gunshot echoed throughout the house.

"Oh shit! Shots fired, shots—"

A second gunshot was fired, and Velvet was now screaming as tears streamed down her face. The door opened, and Willow walked in with the freshly fired gun in her hand.

"Grandma…" Coco said

Willow walked up to Coco and handed the revolver to her, "If you are going to protect Velvet, you cannot hesitate."

Coco took the gun and turned the safety on, "I...I promise to protect her."

"Thank you… You must all leave now," Willow said as she looked to Jaune and Ruby, "Can either of you drive?"

"I can," Jaune said.

Willow grabbed the keys to the truck and tossed them to Jaune, who quickly caught them.

"Go. I will buy as much time as I can," Willow said as she opened the garage door.

"Grandma, come with us," Velvet cried.

"I'm sorry, my little bunny, but someone must make sure that you escape safely," Willow stroked Velvet's hair, "Quickly now."

Coco dragged Velvet into the car as she screamed and tried to fight her way out of her sister's grip while Jaune got in and started the car.

"Ruby, take this," Willow handed Ruby a piece of paper, "When you meet with Hazel, give it to him. He will know that you can be trusted."

"Ruby! Come on!" Jaune said as he got in.

Ruby looked at Willow for a final moment, "Thank you, Willow."

With that final act of thanks, Ruby got into the truck, and they quickly drove off. Willow watched as the children drove off with a tearful smile on her face, " _ Vale et Fortuna _ ."

Willow walked to another area of the garage and picked up a gas canister before walking back inside of the house.

_ 1:20 AM _

As Jaune continued driving away from the house, Velvet was screaming and crying as Coco tried to comfort her. 

"Velvet, you need to calm down," Coco said.

"I WANT TO GO BACK," Velvet yelled.

"Coco," Jaune said as he tried to continue driving, "I need Velvet to calm down."

"I am trying… Ruby, can you give me a hand?"

Ruby turned and placed a hand on Velvet's head, " _ Insomnia _ ."

Velvet's eyes quickly closed, and Velvet was out like a light.

"She should be asleep for an hour or two," Ruby said.

But Coco was silent... everyone sat in a disturbing silence as Jaune drove past the city limits sign that was more of an insult to them.

Now Leaving Haven

Hope You Had A Good Time


	13. A Detour of Emotion

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 1:30 AM _

As Taiyang approached the house, he saw the light of the fire that consumed the Adel household.

Pulling up to the burning house, Taiyang saw that he had just missed a confrontation. In the front yard was a wounded officer that was being treated by EMTs and a dead Willow Adel who laid on the front lawn with a tarp lazily covering her body. Towering over the dead woman were Agents Washington and Maine.

"What happened," Taiyang asked.

"Old lady put up one hell of a fight," Agent Washington said.

"And?"

"The fight ended," Agent Washington said as if he felt confused about explaining what happened next.

Taiyang sighed, "We needed her alive. She could have told us where they went…"

Agent Washington shrugged, "I doubt that she was going to say anything. Plus, Adel was already firing at local task force members and would have killed them had Agent Maine not stepped in."

"Look, I don't care about whatever excuse you have for killing her. Did you find any leads as to where they may have gone," Taiyang asked.

"Firefighters are en route, but any evidence is likely gone. But, the truck from the CCTV recordings was missing from the garage. We put out a BOLO, but I think it is safe to assume that they are long gone."

"Dammit…"

"I will admit. Adel was a smart one. Killing the two officers drew the authorities here, so that gave the Grimm time to escape. Plus, this little fight bought them even more time."

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Maine," Agent Washington asked.

Agent Main only nodded as a response.

"What?"

"We think that your kid is heading to Burlington. It's rumored to have some secret group of Grimm that transports other Grimm across the border. Our boss has been trying to find it for years," Agent Washington said.

"So what happens now," Taiyang asked.

"What happens now is that we part ways, Lieutenant. Agent Maine and I were assigned here to take care of the Grimm ally, and we did. But, we know that Agent Callows is currently in Burlington. I will warn you, he may be a bit crazy, but he will get shit done. Let's head back to the precinct, and I can inform Agent Callows that you will be joining him in searching for the Grimm."

As Taiyang stared at the burning house, he heard her voice again.

" _ Tai… _ "

"Shut up, Summer…"

" _ The more you follow, the farther you shall fall… should you continue _ —"

"Shut UP," Taiyang turned towards Summer's voice and saw that he had just yelled at a random officer.

"Sir, are you okay," They asked.

Taiyang stood there in shock at what had just happened. The officer asked again, but Taiyang was quick to walk away.

Taiyang opened his door and slumped into his car, feeling his heart beating fast and sweat beading down his face. Taiyang opened the glove compartment and pulled out his medication and took almost double the amount. As Taiyang sat in the car in painful silence, he began to feel the tears caress his cheeks as the weight of everything that has happened in the last few days came crashing down on him.

_ 5:48 AM _

Since the events of Haven, the truck was filled with silence. Ruby looked into the back seat and saw Velvet was still asleep from her spell. Coco was still awake, but eyes were bloodshot red, and the area around her eyes was irritated from the tears.

"Hey, Coco."

Coco said nothing. She just kept staring out into the dimly lit sky as snow gently fell. Ruby looked towards the driver's seat and saw that Jaune was exhausted. She could see his eyes slowly shutting before he had to force himself to stay awake multiple times.

"Hey, are you okay," Ruby asked.

"I'm fine," Jaune snapped.

This swift response shocked Ruby, "I was just asking if you were okay."

"Well, I gave a damn answer. Now can I focus on driving," Jaune asked.

"She is just trying to be nice. You don't have to be a dick," Coco said.

"Well, when either of you decides to take the wheel, then I will be nice. Until then, shut up and let me drive."

After a few seconds of silence, Jaune gritted his teeth and muttered, "Fuck it."

Jaune quickly veered the truck off of the main road and pulled over beside a forest. Jaune got out and slammed the door before walking into the woods, with Coco and Ruby looking at one another.

"I'll go talk to him," Ruby said.

"We should just leave him if he wants to be left alone," Coco said.

"No," Ruby said.

"I'll wait for fifteen minutes, and then Velvet and I are leaving."

As Ruby left the car, the second door slam woke Velvet up. She quickly looked around before looking to Coco.

"Coco, where's grandma?"

Coco looked at Velvet and mumbled, "Fuck."

_ 5:50 AM _

Jaune was walking further into the snow-covered forest, his emotions growing wilder than every. As he slowly came to a stop, Jaune gritted his teeth. Looking to a tree beside him, Jaune placed his hand on the bark and said, " _ Ignis _ ."

As he removed his hand, Jaune saw the tree light up like a Christmas tree. But the fire was quickly put out by a sudden blast of water. Jaune, with his black and red eyes, turned to stare at Ruby as she still had her hand extended.

Lowering it, Ruby walked up to Jaune, yelling, "Are you crazy?"

Jaune looked to Ruby, his eyes narrowed, "I said I wanted to be left alone."

"Not if you mean to set the forest on fire," Ruby said, "What were you thinking? We are on the run, and you light a beacon for every helicopter and G.D.T.F officer. What would you have done if-"

As Ruby continued to speak, Jaune gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists until he looked at her and yelled, " _ Aer _ !"

Ruby's next image was staring up at the sky and feeling an extreme soreness on her back. Sitting up, she realized that she flew back five feet and slid across the forest floor. As she quickly got up, she raised her hands, "Jaune, stop this. I am not going to fight you."

But Jaune wasn't listening as he quickly aimed his hands at the ground and said, " _ Aqua _ !"

The snow beneath Jaune's feet melted, and the water quickly wrapped around Jaune's hands. Before Ruby could react, Jaune launched one half of the spell at her. Ruby rolled to the right and assumed a kneeling stance as Jaune launched the second attack. This time, Ruby quickly yelled, " _ Aer _ !"

Air and water clashed into one, causing a small bomb of snow to form around the two. Ruby stood up, getting agitated now, and said, "Jaune, stand down."

"No! I had been planning this journey for months. Piecing together the time, obstacles, even the fucking weather."

"Jaune—"

"Ever since I met you, everything I have been planning has gone right down the fucking drain.  _ Aer _ ," Jaune yelled as he then shot a gust of air at Ruby.

Ruby quickly aimed her hands at her feet and said, " _ Frigidus _ ."

The snow that covered Ruby's feet quickly turned into ice and braced for the ice spell. The result of Ruby's spell worked as she managed to stay in her spot rather than being flung back again. But as Ruby lowered her arms from bracing the attack, she saw a fist come right at her. Ruby managed to block the attack but needed to act fast.

So, Ruby quickly aimed her hands at the ground as Jaune charged again, recited the water spell, and shot the spell right at Jaune's chest, sending him flying back into a tree.

Now free, Ruby ran up, grabbed Jaune by the collar, slammed him into the tree, and asked, "Are you going to stop now?"

The agitation in his eyes slowly faded as a sense of anguish replaced it.

"Jaune?"

Jaune looked down as he said, "I'm so tired, Ruby…"

Ruby let go of Jaune as he just kept crying and sat down beside him. Ruby looked to her companion and placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder, "I know…"

The two sat there as the snow gently landed on their shoulders as the sun slowly rose over the horizon.

_ 6:03 AM _

Jaune and Ruby were walking back towards Coco and Velvet, their emotions quelled and honesties spoken.

"I'm sorry," Jaune said.

Ruby stopped and looked at Jaune, "Jaune, I can forgive you because I know that you are tired. But we have all given up everything to do this. None of us have homes to go back to. That is why we need to work together if we are all going to make it to Liberteria. That means that we can't fight amongst ourselves."

"I know..."

"Will this happen again," Ruby asked,

"No. I... I will try to make sure it won't happen again."

"Good," Ruby said as she began to walk again.

"I lied."

Ruby looked to Jaune as he slowly looked towards her, "When I said that everything has been shitty ever since I met you, I lied."

Ruby cracked a small smile, "I hoped so. Now come on, we left Coco and Velvet alone for too long."

_ 6:05 AM _

Coco was looking at a sleeping Velvet as she stood outside of the truck, about to drive off. The small bruises on Coco's arms indicated that a minor scuffle had broken out while the two Grimm were gone.

"Coco," Ruby said.

Coco turned around to see Jaune and Ruby walking back towards the car.

"Well... it looks like you made it on time," Coco said.

"What happened," Ruby pointed towards Coco's arms.

"I didn't want to lie to her, so I told her about Willow. She... wasn't happy," Coco said.

"None of us have been lately..." Jaune replied.

Coco looked towards Ruby, who nodded. Coco sighed, "Well, I can't say that I was a saint either. Let's just get to Burlington, and we can hopefully get some decent sleep."

Jaune extended his hand, and hesitantly Coco shook it. The three teenagers got back into the truck and drove off.


	14. The Day of the GGB

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 8:30 AM _

After what happened in the forest, Ruby and Jaune agreed to forget what they said and move on. Since then, the Adels and the runaways began to gain more of a bond with one another by sharing stories. 

"So she comes in, screaming that she found the mark on the wall and I thought that she caught me. But, it turned out that she assumed that I had a lighter and searched my room for days to try and find both the lighter and possibly cigarettes," Jaune said.

Coco and Ruby laughed while Velvet seemed confused.

"What happened," Velvet asked.

"You see, Vel, Jaune's mom thought that he was smoking. But he actually burned his wall with a spell," Coco explained.

"Ohhhh," Velvet said before giggling.

"Since we are getting close, we should probably discuss how we are supposed to meet up with the other members of the Light. Coco?"

"The spot that we are looking for is a park—specifically a park along Main Street. There is a grate that will take us into the sewer system. The Light there uses this system to move the hideout consistently," Coco said.

"So we go in, find the park, go into the sewers, and hope for the best," Jaune asked.

"Well... our luck has so far been decent," Ruby said.

"Great. First, I thought I'd freeze to death, and now I might just die from the fumes," Jaune said.

"Well, the smell would match your personality," Ruby said as the others laughed alongside Ruby as they continued towards the city.

Unbeknownst to them, someone arrived sooner than them.

_ 9:12 AM _

Taiyang walked into the Burlington police station to see that a majority of the precinct's population consisted of military soldiers. One of the soldiers noticed Taiyang and stuck out his hand, "Citizen, the precinct is under military control."

"Military control?"

"With the recent announcement regarding the G.G.B, we have been assigned to take over as Burlington and to set up a Grimm scanning checkpoint."

"I am Lieutenant Long, and I am here to see Agent Callows," Taiyang said as he pulled out his badge and handed it to the soldier.

The soldier examined the badge and handed it back to Taiyang.

"Follow me," the soldier said.

Once Taiyang followed the soldier into the G.D.T.F department, Taiyang immediately noticed that the room was vacant. The only person in the room stood at the center of the room and staring at a wall of monitors.

"Agent Callows, I presume," Taiyang asked.

The man looked at Taiyang before looking back at the monitors.

"Taiyang Xiao Long. The infamous fifty-eight-year-old lieutenant of Queen's Grimm Detainment Task Force. You and a handful of officers were quite famous a few years back that some referred to as Huntsmen. You and your wife were in a car crash while going to get groceries. While she passed away, you were diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress. Be fate or bad luck; this week is also the anniversary of the accident. And now, you stand before me so that you might ask for me to help you find your daughter... I presume."

Taiyang looked to the soldier before saying, "Your help would make things easier."

"I suppose that I can help you find your daughter. Perhaps you can say goodbye before the coming hellfire," Agent Callows said as he gave a very sadistic chuckle.

"What do you mean, the coming hellfire?"

"The vote for the Grimm Genocide Bill is over now. We will hear the results soon, and might I say, it does not look good for the Grimm. I must admit that I am quite disappointed with this outcome."

"What do you mean," Taiyang said, suddenly feeling a sense of exhaustion.

"With the skills that they possess, I believe that they could have been valuable soldiers. But I am not the one making the rules. If Uncle Sam says that they have to go, I will make sure that every last one of them is wiped from the face of this country. Don't you agree?"

"All that I care to talk about is finding Ruby..." Taiyang said as he staggered towards Callows.

"I am sure that you are," Agent Callows said.

A sudden thudding noise caused Agent Callows to glance over his shoulder at the now unconscious Taiyang before saying, "Well, I suppose that everyone has their limits."

_ 8:45 AM _

"You are going to turn... here, into this alleyway."

Jaune listened to Coco and parked the truck deep within the alleyway. Now parked, the group was out of the truck and getting ready to walk.

"Vel, grab everything. We aren't coming back," Coco said.

"Okay," Velvet said as she picked up her supplies.

"Be on the lookout. We might be ahead of my dad, but that doesn't mean that the G.D.T.F doesn't have a heads up for us." Jaune said as he looked down the alley to make sure the coast was clear.

"I think it is more like the military getting the heads up," Coco said.

"Oh good, so I am not going crazy," Ruby said.

"Yeah… that isn't a good sign," Jaune said.

"It looked like they were setting up a checkpoint on the northern part of the city as we came in, so as long as we steer clear of that area, we should be fine for now," Coco said.

"Let's see if there is any update on the bill," Coco said as she opened the driver door and turned on the radio.

'—have become a greater threat than any of us could have possibly realized. That is why I have decided to leave the decision to those who represent your voice, my fellow Americans. I have begun moving our troops to guard our Canadian border. I have also ordered the construction of temporary military checkpoints in the cities closest to the border. While this will take time and resources, I thank the many cities along the border that have volunteered their resources and support towards helping our troops prepare for the national testing. I believe that this is what America represents, and I am proud to represent you. Know that the vote shall be announced before the end of the day. No further questions.'

'Shortly following President Ironwood's statements, protests and riots have begun across the country as parents, and loved ones of the Grimm inside of the Institutions have gathered outside the prisons and demanded to see their loved ones. In Los Angelos, some protestors were fired upon after officials demanded that they stay back.'

"No, I'm turning it off," Coco said.

"Are we going to die," Velvet asked.

Coco looked to Velvet and picked her up, "No we're not. We are going to find Elder Hazel, and he is going to help us, okay?"

"I want to go home, Coco," Velvet sniffled.

"We can't go home, Vel. We left home because there were people who were going to hurt us. Jaune and Ruby left their home for the same reason. Hazel is going to help us find a new home. One where no one can hurt us," Coco said.

"Will Grandma be there?"

"...I don't know if she will be there."

"We can't stay here long. Coco, what is the plan," Jaune asked.

Coco looked towards Jaune, "Follow me."

_ 9:20 AM _

Taiyang woke up form his sudden slumber with a confused look on his face.

"What happened?"

Looking back towards the monitors, he saw Agent Callows was still staring at the monitors. Agent Callows turned to him and scoffed, "Due to chasing your daughter for days without stopping, it appears that your body finally gave out and you collapsed from exhaustion. "

"Well… has there been any progress?"

"There was a camera recording of a truck matching Willow Adel's coming into the city. However, that truck has since disappeared after reaching the South End. I assume that they ditched the vehicle and are searching for The Light at this very moment. Until there is more information, I must insist that you get some more rest."

"No, that isn't—"

"Unfortunately," As Agent Callows said that word, Private Caboose walked in, "I was not asking you for permission. I agreed to allow you to be a part of the investigation. However, your personal connection towards the case and your lack of energy will only serve as an obstacle towards my desired goal. But do not be concerned, I shall inform you if any developments arise."

The private walked up and placed his hand on Taiyang, who quickly shoved it off.

"This way, Lieutenant," The private said.

As Taiyang was escorted out of the room, Agent Callows turned back towards the monitors and focused on monitor 24, which had a clear view of the group running down a street.

"Now, where are you going, my new friends?"

_ 9:21 _

Walking into the break room, Taiyang saw that there was no one in there, but there was a cot with a pillow and blanket.

"This is where you will be staying," Private Caboose said.

Taiyang said nothing, but the Private didn't care and just walked out and locked the door behind him, leaving Taiyang alone with his thoughts.

Sitting on the bed, Taiyang felt her presence. This time, it was stronger than ever as he felt her hand grab his and knelt before him with a look of fear in her eyes.

_ "Tai, you must stop! Please! _ "

"I can't…"

_ "That agent is not to be trusted _ ."

"He is my only chance of finding Rub—"

" _ He will be the death of our daughter _ !"

"YOU ARE NOT REAL!"

As he stared at the now empty room, Taiyang was in disbelief. Two soldiers unlocked the door and barged in before asking, "What happened?"

"N-Nothing," Taiyang said, "Just... thinking to myself."

The soldiers looked at one another before walking away, shutting the door behind them. But as the door shut, Summer reappeared, her eyes glassy and her image fading slowly.

" _ You died... You died with me in that car... and all that is left of you is a hollow shell that blindly follows orders with no regard for who will be affected. If this is so... then the Rose shall fall. _ "

Taiyang looked up and Summer was gone.

He was alone again. Sitting down, he placed his head in his hands and began sobbing.

Taiyang was alone, he was afraid, and he was broken.

_ 10:27 AM _

After jogging through alleyways and ducking under cameras, the group finally... made it?

"We're here," Coco said.

While Velvet seemed happy to "arrive," Ruby and Jaune were just confused by the location.

"Coco, this is just a park."

"You don't say. Just follow me."

Coco walked ahead of the others until she was standing on top of a pothole.

"Here," Coco said as she looked down.

Following Coco to the pothole, Ruby was the first to notice what was different.

"Jaune look," Ruby said as she kneeled down and placed her hand on the pothole.

The writing along the rim of the lid said, ' _ Liberteria Et Alii _ .'

"Freedom for others," Ruby said.

"And how did you learn Latin fluently," Jaune asked.

"I had some time in the car," Ruby said as she patted her bag.

"Jaune, keep an eye on that side. Vel and I will watch this side of the park. Ruby, get the pothole open."

"On it," Ruby said as she recalled what she learned from her translation book.

Ruby aimed her hand at the pothole and said, " _ Ferrum _ ."

Once Ruby felt the connection with the iron plate, she groaned as she slowly raised the dish out of the ground. Despite having no physical contact with it, it still felt like she was pulling a plate out of the ground.

Once it had been lifted, Ruby flung her arms slightly to the right, slamming the plate onto the ground.

"I got it," Ruby said as she sighed from slight exhaustion.

"Good, now follow me," Coco said as she climbed down.

"Ew," Velvet said before following her sister down.

_ 9:45 AM _

Tyrian watched the teenagers remove the pothole and slowly go into the sewers.

"Interesting."

"Shall I send our forces after them, sir," Private Caboose asked.

"...No."

"Sir?"

"Should Mr. Long discover where his daughter is, he will try to extract her. That will only end badly for him now that they have gone into the sewers. Besides, I am more interested in the people that these rats are running to."

"Very well, sir."

_ 9:46 AM _

As Ruby made it to the bottom of the sewer, the smell of the sewage fumes had quickly entered her nostrils, causing her to start gagging.

"Oh god… this is disgusting," Ruby said.

"Not now, Ruby," Jaune said.

"What do you mean—"

"We aren't alone," Coco said.

As soon as Coco said that, Ruby and Jaune saw two figures running towards them. They had casual clothes on, but all had white bandanas on their faces. Before the four could react, the two masked individuals pulled out knives.

"Coco," Jaune asked.

But when he looked towards Coco, Jaune noticed that she was unfazed by the supposed enemies.

"Who are you," One of the masked individuals asked.

"We seek The Light."

"The Light? There is no light here," The four heard a man with a deep voice say as he walked out from around the same corner that the other two thieves came from.

Coco took a step towards the man, seemingly unimpressed by his intimidating look. But as she took that step, one of the others placed the tip of their knife against her neck.

"Hold," The man said as he waited for Coco to speak.

" _ Lux lucet in nigerrimus noctibus, _ " Coco said.

There was a pause in the sewer as the nauseating air was like poison for the lungs. But soon, the tall man began to laugh as he said, " _ Lucem affert spes de homine. _ "

Coco smiled as the two embraced in a firm hug as the man sighed, "Coco, how many years has it been?"

"Too many, Elder Hazel."

The other two sheathed their weapons and this Hazel person backed up and looked towards the others.

"Where is your grandmother," He asked.

Coco shifted her eyes towards Velvet's direction before looking back to Hazel. He understood this silent statement, "I see. Did she... Did she manage to follow the tradition one last time?"

Ruby stepped forward and handed the man the paper that she was given by Willow. Taking it in his hands, he gave a tearful smile, "I... gave this to her when I left Haven. I had hoped to say goodbye to her, but I am glad that the two of you were able to safely make it out. She fulfilled her promise."

Looking towards the entrance that the four just came from, Hazel covered his face again and said, "Now then, I suggest that we go before someone above notices the smell."

"Ugh God, can we go before I die from the smell," Ruby said as the group walked deeper into the sewer, "Ugh, no one listens to me... oh god, why does it smell worse now?"

"Am I correct to assume that you two are Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc," Hazel asked.

"Yes. How did-"

"We have been keeping up with you two. You two have been through a lot in the last few days."

"From what we've heard, you have been through worse," Ruby said.

"Oh yeah, what was the March on Beacon like," Jaune asked.

"That bloodbath? There is not much to say. We marched, we expressed our beliefs, and we were attacked. Had it not been for Willow, I would be dead alongside our brothers and sisters in arms. The people we lost… I still see some of their faces when I sleep," Hazel said.

Wishing to change the subject, Hazel looked towards Coco and Velvet and asked, "Velvet, do you still have that translation book I gave you?

Velvet seemed to be afraid to answer, so she looked to her sister for confirmation of the strange man.

"Go ahead, Vel. Hazel is a friend," Coco said.

Velvet reached into her bag and pulled out the book to show Hazel, who smiled at the sight of the text.

"That is good to see. I would hate to lose what little is left of our language. What about the two of you?"

"I have my translation book, but it is not as helpful as Velvet's," Ruby said.

"How many have come through this way," Jaune asked.

"Hundreds. But recently... only a handful in the last few months. The fellow Elders have been helping others across as well. Last I heard from Elder Oobleck, there was a massacre at the border, and we lost over three hundred of us."

"God... it feels unreal..."

"It is a dark time, Mr. Arc. During times such as these, we say and do things that we do not truly mean, or we do them because we believe that it is the only way. It is in these times that truly test the strengths of friendship."

The group turned and reached the end of a sewer passage.

"Hazel, are you starting to forget your way down here," Coco asked.

"Please, Miss Adel, you know me to be better than that," Hazel said as he placed his hand on the wall. Pushing forward, Hazel fazed through the wall, shocking the children.

Deciding to go head first and eyes shut, Ruby walked through the wall and heard Hazel.

"Welcome… to The Light."

Opening her eyes, Ruby saw something that felt like a hallucination. It was a giant room that had lights dangling from the ceiling, a small makeshift kitchen with a man cooking some food. There was even holiday music playing.

As Jaune and the others proceeded through the fake wall, Ruby released an audible, "Whoa…"

Hazel chuckled, "I appreciate your amazement, Miss Rose."

"This is place is amazing…" Ruby said.

"How do you guys manage to hide out here," Jaune asked.

"We keep everything timed to what is happening on the surface. At this moment," Hazel checked his watch, "ten in the morning, they are celebrating the Christmas festival across town, so we are enjoying a small festival of our own."

"What about supplies," Coco asked.

"We have an irregular schedule between the members of the Light. We send a Grimm out on random days to different stores and come back through different entrances to the sewers. That way, the authorities are unable to pinpoint us."

"Hazel," the group heard a man say as he approached Hazel, "We have a connection with Liberteria."

"Good. Thank you, Scarlet. My apologies, but I must go now. Your sleeping areas will be over there," Hazel pointed to the corner of the room, "Sun can show you to them."

As he walked away, Sun stepped up to where Hazel stood.

"Hey guys, so we have only a few rules. No spells of any kind while down here. There will be no..." Sun saw Velvet, "adult content. There will be no drugs or alcohol, and no leaving without approving it with Hazel, myself, or Neo over there," Sun pointed to another Grimm.

The group walked by the kitchen area and the group saw a man preparing some food. Sun looked to him and smiled, "Pietro is our chef and makes a killer curry, isn't that right Pietro?"

Pietro looked to the group and chuckled, "This boy eats that stuff up like his life depends on it."

"Can't blame me for liking good food," Sun chuckled, "See you Pietro."

"Bye, Sun."

Making it to the corner, the children saw that there were four sleeping bags on the ground.

"While this is not exactly the Four Seasons, we made sure that every inch of this place was cleaned. But if you still wish for something more comfortable, watch this."

Sun walked up to the sleeping bag and placed his hand on one of them before saying, " _ Crescere." _

The sleeping bag slowing began to grow bigger and bigger until it was like a mattress. It only stopped growing once Sun removed his hand from the sleeping bag.

"Dibs," Coco said as she walked towards the makeshift mattress.

Sun taught the Grimm newcomers the spell and before long, the four had large sleeping bags for beds.

"Well, I have to go check in with Hazel. The food will be ready soon, but I am sure that Pietro will give you some snacks if you get hungry. If you have any questions, let me, Hazel, or Neo know. Welcome to The Light."

"Here, let's get you out of those shoes Vel," Coco said as she walked towards one of the beds with Velvet.

Meanwhile, Ruby looked towards Jaune and started to laugh absent-mindedly.

"Whoa," Jaune chuckled, "What's up, Ruby?"

"We made it…" Ruby smiled.

"I'll say that when we get across the border," Jaune said as he patted Ruby's back, "But… I guess it is a nice feeling that we made it this far."

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 6:30 PM _

Senator Hill stood still and stared out of the window of her office as her assistant stared in horror at the television.

"After checking the ballots multiple times, seven to be exact, we have a final number for the vote of the Grimm Genocide Bill. The Senate votes in favor of the Grimm Genocide Bill. I repeat, the Grimm Genocide Bill has been approved by the Senate."

Robin shut her eyes and lowered her head, "And so... the Senate has 'justified' the deaths of thousands... God help us all."

"What is going to happen now," Her assistant looked towards Senator Hill.

Senator Hill walked to her desk, sat down, and stared at her assistant, "Fiona, you are going to listen to me very carefully."


	15. My Fellow Americans...

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 6:15 PM _

Ruby opened her eyes and realized that she was in the middle of a forest. As she tried to stand up, Ruby realized that she could not move. Looking down, though, Ruby noticed that she was not underneath anything. She was just laying against a tree. All she could move were her eyes.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared before Ruby, and she watched as a blurry figure approaching her. She tried to get a better glimpse, but before she discovered the answer, she was awakened by Jaune.

"Jaune," Ruby asked.

"Hey, sorry, I was just letting you know that it was time for dinner."

"I guess I could use some food…" Ruby said as she felt her stomach growl, "Our previous cuisines did not really satisfy my hunger."

"Well, it was beef jerky and soda, so… At least your sodium levels are through the roof, so that is something."

Ruby chuckled as she got out of bed, wearing a lighter and more relaxing outfit that consisted of pajama pants and a tank top.

"Can you… you know," Ruby said as she looked down at her apparel.

"Oh right, sorry," Jaune said as he walked away.

Having a small amount of privacy, Ruby changed into some fresh clothing. Once she was dressed appropriately, Ruby walked out of the living area and saw Jaune was waiting for her.

"Ready?"

"Yup," Ruby smiled.

As they proceeded to the dinner table, Ruby noticed Coco and Velvet were eating already. Down the table from the siblings were the other two Grimm who were there before the group showed up.

"Hey guys," Coco said as Ruby and Jaune sat down across from them.

"Here you go," Pietro handed Jaune and Ruby a bowl of stew.

"Thank you, Pietro," Ruby said.

"So Ruby, your friend here was telling me that you two stole a train from New York," Pietro said.

"He probably made it sound much more dramatic, didn't he," Ruby rolled her eyes.

"He said that you were in his arms, bridal style and that there were explosions with every footstep like he was in some action film," Coco said.

"Oh, did he now," Ruby said as she and Coco started laughing at the tint on Jaune's face.

"I did not," Jaune chuckled.

"Miss Rose, if I may, I have asked these two to tell their stories, but now I was wondering if you were willing to talk about your first spell."

"My first spell?"

"Why, of course, everyone has an interesting tale."

"Well, it was in 2034, I had just gotten home from a bad day of school, and my dad was still at work."

"2034… weren't you like eight then? What is a bad day for an eight-year old," Coco asked.

Ruby blushed, "T-That isn't the point."

"Wait, let me guess," Jaune said as he stared at Ruby, "You… failed a math quiz."

"Of course not."

"You were pranked."

"No."

"You were dumped," Jaune said.

"..."

"Oh my god," Jaune laughed.

"Shut up! He called me a booger head," Ruby said.

Coco was drinking water when Ruby said that, so she started choking from laughter as she tried to clear her throat. Meanwhile, Ruby was blushing from embarrassment.

"I was eight," Ruby said louder.

Jaune and Pietro now started laughing, then Velvet, and then finally, Ruby began to laugh.

"Okay," Jaune said as he finally stopped laughing, "What did you do?"

"Well… I came home. Dad was away, and Penny wasn't with us yet—"

"Penny," Coco asked.

"Our android."

"Ah… Continue."

"So, I ran to my room, fell on my bed, and screamed into my pillow. As I screamed, I realized that I had actually used the wind spell and launched myself into the ceiling by accident."

The others made their own pained expressions as Ruby continued, "When I looked in my mirror, I was in shock. I thought that I was dreaming and looked in the bathroom mirror to see if what I saw was true, and as you can all guess, it was true. Luckily, Grimm were starting to appear around the country. When I looked up facts about the Grimm, I saw a section that explained what spells they use. Luckily, there was a spell on the website that showed what spell hides your eyes. When my dad asked why there was a crack in the ceiling, I told him I was having a bad day at school and threw a baseball, and it cracked the ceiling. Cost me a week of no TV, but that was much better than the other option."

"I can't even imagine the stress of living under the roof of a G.D.T.F officer."

"Well… it was tough at points; I'll tell you that. If I said one wrong phrase, I could have been in chains heading to the Institution by the time I was nine."

As Ruby was talking, Neo walked up and sat next to Coco. She looked at the group and waved.

"Hello," Ruby and the others greeted her.

"Here you go, Neo. I added some extra soy sauce just how you like it," Pietro smiled.

Neo smiled and began to eat from the dish.

"Where is Sun," Ruby asked.

"He is probably discussing what comes next with Elder Hazel."

"So what is Sun's story, anyway," Jaune asked, "He seems a bit too… hyper for this situation."

"Sun… he has a long story. He is one, possibly the one, survivor of the Main faction."

That shocked Ruby, "How did he get out of Maine? Last I heard, they filled the last of the Light's hideouts with mustard gas."

"They did," Elder Hazel said as he and Sun took a seat beside the other Grimm who were at the table, "It was a mess. I told Cardin to move, but he didn't listen. He thought that they were in the perfect place. By the time he realized the trap, it was too late… they came during the night and began to detain Grimm as they screamed in agony… Sun only survived by luck... and landing in the right spot."

"Oh my god…"

"He thinks that a few others made it out and have been in hiding. He still believes that they are out there, which is why he tries to maintain a positive attitude. It does help to hold onto a thread of hope during these times…"

The group had nothing to say for that sudden reveal…

"We all have different stories, and yet it has led us all here. Here, it does not matter what we were before. We are all one thing now in the eyes of society. Here, we are brothers and sisters. And by tomorrow's end, we shall all be across the border and join your fellow brothers and sisters in Canada." Hazel said.

"What about you and Sun?" Jaune asked.

Before Hazel could speak, Sun ran from out from the other room in a panic, "Hazel!"

"What?"

"We have a problem. Like a big, BIG problem. It's Ironwood."

Hazel, Pietro, and Sun ran into the room Sun came from, shortly followed by the other Grimm in the hideout.

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 6:30 PM _

** <There will be basically cuts between an event and Ironwood's speech, so the italicized moments are during the event> **

President Ironwood sat at his desk in the oval office, thinking of what to say to calm the nation. Reporters from across the country and the world were ready to hear what he had to say. Looking up and at them and began his speech.

"My fellow Americans, for the last six years, we have lived in a time of fear."

_ Just outside of the New York Grimm Institution, protestors watched as multiple military convoys pulled up in front of the building.  _

"The cause for this fear are the Grimm. who have unknown amounts of power…"

_ Soldiers poured out of the convoys like water until they were all standing at attention. _

_ "YOU MURDERERS!" _

_ "LET US SEE OUR DAUGHTER!" _

"The Grimm have troubled our country for the last six years. Ever since the first reports of those with these dangerous powers, we, as a united nation, feared what these individuals might do with these powers."

_ The soldiers began to march inside the Institution as a protestor threw a brick towards the soldiers. This action prompted a police officer to pepper spray the protestor. As the protestor screamed in pain, others shielded the wounded individuals and charged the officers.  _

"We have tried to place them in Institutions where we could hold them as we relentlessly try to find a cure for them. The results have only ended in violence and needless human casualties. That being said, I am pleased to announce that the Grimm Genocide Bill has been approved, and we will start phase 1."

_ The commanding officer gave the soldiers their orders and watched as the soldiers stood outside of every cell. The CO nodded, and the soldiers opened the doors. The building echoed with gunshots and screaming. _

_ A soldier opens one of the cell doors to see Oscar, the boy that Qrow and Taiyang had arrested. His eyes were baggy, his skin was pale, his body was thinner, and his clothes were bloodied. His hands were bound by metal, and his mouth was sealed to avoid any spells from being cast. _

_ Oscar looked towards the soldier and mumbled gibberish. _

_ The soldier looked away as the CO walked by, noticed this, and said, "Soldier, follow your orders." _

_ The soldier quickly raised their rifle and fired three rounds. Looking towards the body, Oscar lay dead against the floor. _

"I have ordered mass Grimm testing across the country. Those who are found to possess these abilities will be... dealt with. Those who have conspired with known Grimm shall be questioned and punished."

_ Senator Hill stared out of her window as three soldiers walked into her office. _

_ "Senator Hill, you are under arrest for suspected treason." _

_ Senator Hill looked to the soldiers as a single thought echoed in her mind. _

_ 'Good luck Fiona.' _

_ As a soldier took a step towards Senator Hill, Hill revealed the gun in her hand. The soldiers aimed their pistols at her, ready for what she might do next. _

_ "God bless the United States of America," Both Ironwood and Hill said as Senator Hill placed the gun against her head. _

_ December 4th, 2040 _

_ 5:37 PM _

Taiyang had just finished listening to the news. Feeling his phone buzz, Taiyang slowly looked at it and saw that it was Raven.

'Tai?'

"The news..."

'Do you have Ruby?'

"I... I..."

'Oh god… Tai, it is a shitshow down here. There are riots and looting across the city. Chief Schnee has ordered everyone to ensure peace. '

_ December 4th _

_ 5:45 PM _

'God bless the United States of America.'

'Mr. President! Mr. President!'

Hazel turned off the television, making the room dreadfully silent.

"Oh fuck…" Sun said as he sat on the ground.

"What are we gonna do now?"

"Calm down, Nora."

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE CALM REN," Nora yelled.

"ENOUGH," Hazel yelled.

The room was, once again, silenced by Hazel's shout.

"The plan is still the same. The other members of The Light and I shall plot out the best route tonight and inform you of the plan by early tomorrow morning," Hazel said. "I suggest you all get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow. Sun, Neo, Pietro, meet me by the map and prepare to vacate the area."

"All those Grimm in the institutions… They won't even be able to defend themselves," Ren said as he and Nora walked away.

"We should get some rest as well…" Jaune said.

As Ruby was about to leave, she looked over to Hazel. He walked back over to the television and sat down in defeat.

"Give me a second," Ruby said.

Jaune nodded and walked back towards the sleeping area. Ruby looked at Hazel as she slowly began walking over to him. Noticing her, Hazel sighed, "Miss Rose, you should get some rest."

"I think I can manage a couple more minutes," Ruby said.

Hazel chuckled.

"Gretchen would have liked you… before all of this," Hazel said.

"Gretchen?"

"My sister, she wasn't like us, but she was still a good friend to The Light… she died in the March on Beacon Street. Died right in my arms, right through her head… I couldn't do anything about it."

Ruby stayed quiet as Hazel continued, "She always wanted children. I kept telling her that she was crazy, that all of this would be a bad upbringing for them. The more I think about how I handled that conversation, the more I…" He placed his head in his hand and sighed. He leaned back in the seat with irritation around his eyes and looked at me, "Who have you hurt Ruby?"

"Excuse me?"

"When we reveal our powers, there is always someone we hurt, at least one person. A friend, significant other, family member, someone. Who was it for you?"

There was only one person on my mind.

"My father…" I said. "When he discovered that I was a Grimm, he told me that I was a monster…"

"And how did you feel?"

"At the time? Like the one person who I cared about in the world just abandoned me… hated me."

"Oh, I doubt that he hates you," Hazel said, "At the time, your father just discovered that his daughter is the very same thing that he is sworn to go after. No, I don't believe that he hates you. I believe that when humans discover something that they do not understand, they fear it. That is why they never gave people like you and I a chance. They only saw the destruction we were capable of committing, not the miracles we could have done for them."

"And now they never will."

"It may feel that way, but I have hope. That is all we can have now."

"Hope? They are wiping all of the Grimm out! How can you have hope," Ruby asked.

"Hope is the one thing we can always have, Miss Rose. The one thing that humanity will never be able to take away from us. In time, humanity will see what they have done and realize the possibilities that they have destroyed. Once they realize this, Liberteria will reach out to offer a second chance."

"...What is Liberteria like?"

"It is a marvelous sight… a beautiful creek goes right through the town. There is a theatre, a market. It is simply... nostalgic. The community works to help one another through trying times."

"It sounds like a nice place…"

"Oh, it is, Miss Rose, and you shall discover it soon enough. Now then… I better join Sun and the others to discuss what our next strategy is. Try to get some rest," Hazel said.

Ruby walked back to Jaune and the others as they began to drift off to sleep. Sitting in her bed, Ruby stared at the ceiling of the hideout… Ruby reached into her bag and pulled out a photo of her mother.

_ 6:10 PM _

Taiyang stared at the ceiling of the precinct while staring at his phone, or more importantly, a photo on his phone of himself, Ruby, Summer, Qrow, and Raven during a G.D.T.F BBQ…

Placing his phone, with the photo still open, on the table beside him, Taiyang wiped his eyes as a tear ran down his cheek.

_ 6:12 PM _

"Ruby."

Ruby looked past the photo to see Jaune as he kneeled down beside her bed, "We'll be fine."

"Are you telling me that or yourself that?"

"Can both be a valid answer?"

Ruby chuckled as she put the photo back in her bag, "I'll see you in the morning."

Jaune nodded as he went back to his bed. Ruby shut her eyes as fell asleep, as ready as she would ever be for what was to come.

_ December 5th, 2040 _

_ 1:54 AM _

"Thank you and welcome to Canada," The border agent said.

Fiona nodded and proceeded through the border gate. Once she made it across the bridge into Canada, she turned on the radio.

'Riots and protests have continued as the death toll within the Institutions continue to rise and... What's that? And you're sure? Breaking News: Senator Robyn Hill ended her life earlier today as a group of officers entered to arrest her under the suspicion of working with the Light. Senator Hill's assistant has now been deemed a person of interest to the authorities. She has yet to be found.'

Fiona turned off the radio and continued to drive towards the destination.


	16. Escape

_ December 5th, 2040 _

_ 6:30 AM _

Ruby opened her eyes and discovered that she was in the same dream that she had yesterday. She was sitting against a tree as the same figure approached her. Only this time, the figure was less blurry, and it was...

"Mom," Ruby asked.

Summer smiled as she said, "It is time."

Ruby's eyes shot open to see the stone ceiling and feeling a small shaking motion on her shoulder. Looking to see who it was, Ruby saw Jaune was dressed and packed.

"Hey, Hazel says that it is time to go. Are you okay?"

_ I was able to see it in Jaune's eyes. Jaune didn't sleep for one minute that night. No one did after that statement from President Ironwood. Who could sleep when they just heard the President call for their execution? I barely slept too… _

_ During the night, Velvet was crying, and Coco tried to calm her down. Then, I could hear the other two Grimm, Nora and Ren, having a small argument. In short, there was a lot of crying. _

"Pietro managed to make breakfast for us, too," Jaune said, "I'll leave you to get dressed."

"Thanks, Jaune," Ruby said.

Jaune left to go to another area of the hideout, leaving Ruby to get out of bed. As Ruby put a clean shirt on, Coco walked up.

"Hey, Ruby…"

"Hey, Coco. How is Velvet doing?"

"She's sleeping... for now. Felt that she could use the extra rest."

Ruby nodded, "What about you?"

Coco had a look of exhaustion as she sat down on top of her sleeping bag, "I'm tired…"

Ruby sat beside her and held her hand, "…"

"Every time a Grimm came to us for shelter, I stayed up until the sun rose out of fear of being discovered. I would plan out what to do if the authorities came during the night to take us away."

"I felt the same way with my dad…"

"Ruby, since we don't know what is going to happen on the surface. If something were to happen…"

"Coco, stop it."

Coco turned Ruby to face her, "You two are one of the few I trust with protecting her. Promise me that you will look after Velvet."

As Ruby stared into those amber eyes, she could see the fear she felt, "I promise."

"Thank you, Ruby."

Coco pulled Ruby in for a hug, and Ruby was glad to return the embrace.

"Okay, I will be out in a second. I need to make sure everything is packed, locked," Coco pulled the revolver out of her bag, "and loaded."

Ruby nodded and walked away from Coco and towards Pietro, who was pouring a bowl of leftovers for Jaune.

"Good morning Ruby…" Pietro said as he handed her a bowl of the leftover food from the previous night.

"Hey, Pietro…"

_ The look that Pietro had made me hurt… We all knew that this was coming, but the fact that it DID happen still hit us hard… _

As Ruby took her seat beside Jaune at the table, Pietro asked, "So are you all ready?"

Everyone responded by saying nothing.

"Well, I am. Liberteria has many different jobs ready for newcomers to help expand."

"…What do you do there?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I have been the cook for Elder Hazel's faction these past few years. But since we are not returning to the States, I am planning on asking for a teaching position. Just because we can cast magic doesn't mean you can skip your history tests."

"I happen to be a fan of history," Ruby said.

"Well, I will have to keep that in mind," Pietro said, smiling at Ruby.

_ 6:25 AM _

"Mr. Long."

Taiyang looked towards the entryway of the break room and saw Agent Callows.

"You understand what is going to happen, yes," Agent Callows asked.

"Yes."

"This is no longer an extraction mission for you. It is going to be extermination."

"...I understand," Taiyang said.

"Good, then you will be with my men and me in the G.D.T.F department. We will be monitoring all of the cameras within the city and listening to all chatter. Should we hear that your daughter has been identified, well, I pray that you take the shot."

"…"

Agent Callows took a step forward, "Am I clear?"

"Yes," Taiyang said.

"Good."

_ 6:30 AM _

Awake and fed, the fugitives were now listening to Hazel as he gave an update of what was happening.

"Everyone listen up. Based on the reports… the GGB has gone into effect. Checkpoints have been set up in the cities closest to the Canadia border."

"So many of us…"

"So… What are we going to do now?"

"Because of this, there have been clusters of protests going on. The plan," Hazel said as he pulled out an old map of the city, "is to move out of the town under cover of the protest today. There is an RV in the Western sewer exit that we have been preparing for our departure. With the checkpoint being set up in the town square, we will be leaving as soon as possible. Once we leave the city, we will head towards this national park that goes right up to the border wall. For the terrain, the park is mostly snow and tall trees during this time of the year. Once we make it to the wall, there is a hidden opening on the wall that will allow us to get through."

"The New Montpelier National Park? That's almost twenty miles away from here. Even if we get out of the city without being caught, there is still the border wall. How are we supposed to get through that," Ren asked.

"There is a small gap here," Sun pointed at a particular area of the wall. "This is what we have been using for the last few months."

"So we have a route out of the country, but what about the city," Jaune asked.

"That is where I come in," Sun smirked.

"Sun and neo have volunteered to create a distraction to draw away the military from the city limits so that the rest of us can leave."

"But that would mean…" Nora trailed off.

"If this helps you guys get out, then we are more than willing to do it," Sun said.

Neo nodded in agreement.

"Are we sure that this will work," Coco asked.

"This is our best and the only option for getting out of Burlington," Hazel said.

"Okay, so when are we leaving," Ruby asked.

"We depart as soon as possible, so I suggest that you have your belongings ready."

When Hazel was done speaking, everyone went to do as he suggested.

"Okay, Vel, now we are going to be going on a dangerous quest, okay? You have to stay behind me at all times."

"Okay," Velvet said.

While watching Coco and Velvet pace away from the others, Ruby noticed a pad of paper and pencil. On top of the pad of paper was a list of recipes.

'Must be Pietro's,' Ruby thought as she skimmed through.

Ruby found two blank pages and ripped them out before taking the pencil and beginning to write. Ths caught Jaune's attention, who asked, "Ruby, what are you doing? We need to get ready."

"I packed last night. Since I have some free time, I figured I would do some writing before heading out."

"Of course you would do that…" Jaune sighed as he sat beside her, "Only Ruby Rose would write about something before going on a very dangerous mission."

"And only Jaune Arc would be the one to call me out on it."

Jaune chuckled at Ruby's joke before he stared at the entrance of the hideout.

"I wish things were different. For the last three months, all I have been doing is planning how I am going to get to this point. The idea of getting across the border was nothing more than that… an idea. And now that we are doing it, it feels kind of unreal. You know?"

"Yeah. Every time I have woken up, I think that I am going to be back in my real bed, and all of this would have been some crazy nightmare," Ruby said as she wrote one final thing on the first sheet of paper. Ruby folded it up and placed it in her pocket beside her mother's photo, "But as Uncle Qrow told me, you have to deal with the hand you were given."

"I guess it could be worse."

"We're hiding in a sewer, about to break out of a city, evading the military, and leaving our country behind because of who we are. What is worse than that?"

"Well… There could be actual sewage in here."

Now it was Ruby who was the one to start laughing as she finished the second piece of paper. However, this time, Ruby placed that paper in her jeans pocket, which made Jaune a little curious.

"What are you writing?"

"It's a secret."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because…"

"If I think you deserve to read it, then I will show you."

Jaune rolled his eyes as he got up.

"Well, I am gonna go and see if anyone needs help."

As Jaune walked away from her, Ruby realized that she probably could wear warmer clothing. So she walked back over to her bag, pulled out a second sweatshirt, and put it on before putting her jacket on again. Jeans were the closest warmest thing Ruby had, so those had to do, the same is said for her shoes. She made sure everything was where they should be. Letter one in her jeans pocket, and letter two in her breast pocket alongside… her mom's photo. Pulling it out, Ruby stared at the worn down picture.

"I hope we make it…" Ruby kissed the photo and placed it back in her pocket beside the letter.

_ 7:03 AM _

Hazel walked to the center of the room, his clothing changed to that of winter gear, and said, "It's time. We are moving out."

The group all proceeded to the entrance and walked through the fake wall. Making it to the first intersection of the sewers, Sun and Neo split from the others, but not before Hazel and Sun hugged once more.

"This is goodbye for now, old friend," Hazel said.

"Don't worry, Neo and I are used to these scenarios. This will be a walk in the park for us," Sun said.

Neo gave a thumbs up, to which Hazel chuckled.

"I am sure that it will be," Hazel patted Sun's backs, "Set off the distraction and get the hell out of here. If the wall is too risky, go through the Rainbow Bridge."

"We will," Sun said as he looked to the others, "Safe travels, guys."

As they went right, the group of Grimm went left and followed Hazel through the sewer system until they made it to a ladder. Hazel was the first to climb up to make sure the coast is clear. Hearing a ragged dragging noise, the group looked up to see the clouded sky as Hazel climbed back down.

"We have to move quickly," Hazel said, "Pietro, you first."

Pietro was the first to go up, and then it was Hazel, followed by Velvet, Coco, Nora, Ren, Jaune, and finally, Ruby. Once she made it up top, Coco offered her a hand, which she took.

When they were all out, Ren and Jaune moved the pot back over the pothole. As her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, Ruby saw the RV that Hazel had mentioned. Pietro opened the door and was helping Velvet and Coco onto it.

"Everyone, get in the RV now," Hazel said.

As Ruby and Jaune were the last to get in before Hazel, they heard a shout.

"Hey! Burlington police department. Stop right there!"

Hazel looked to the officer as he had his hand on his holster. Deciding to improvise, Hazel turned to the officer, "Why hello officer, what can I do for you?"

"What are you all doing here," The officer asked.

"Can I not be here, officer?"

"All citizens are expected to be in the town square for testing. Any in violation of this order is to be arrested until tested."

"This is all a mistake. I am sure that this can be explained by-  _ Tempus Tardus _ ," Hazel quickly said.

The group watched as the guard suddenly looked as if he was frozen in time, a look of shock plastered onto his face as Hazel quickly got into the car.

"What did you do," Ruby asked.

"He's frozen in time. We have about fifteen minutes before he unfreezes. Pietro, you drive."

"Already on it," Pietro said as he started the car.

"Kids, what do we have for resources," Hazel asked.

"Not much, maybe enough for a few fire spells, but with all the snow, we may have to rely on water spells," Nora said.

"Hopefully, it will not come to that," Hazel said.

"Vel put on your seatbelt," Coco said.

As the RV pulled up to the military checkpoint to leave the city, Hazel grabbed the radio beside him.

"Wukong report. We are at the destination."

'Neo and I are at our destination. The distraction is set. You have three minutes.'

"Good…" Hazel said as he turned off the radio.

_ 7:08 AM _

Agent Callows and Taiyang stared at the monitors and listened to radio transmissions when suddenly…

'Wukong report. We are at the destination.'

'Neo and I are at our destination. The distraction is set. You have three minutes.'

"It seems that the rats are planning something," Agent Callows said, "focus the monitors on the cameras facing the exits of the city."

_ 7:09 AM _

"Afternoon officer," Pietro said as he rolled down his window.

"Afternoon, sir, where are you going?"

"Going to Maine to see my granddaughter's graduation," Hazel said.

"Please show me the documents proving that you were tested, and we can let you on your way."

"Of course, let me just ah…" Pietro said before grabbing his wallet, "Sorry, old age must be catching up with me."

"Sir, I must ask you to show me your documents quickly."

Before the group was caught, a loud explosion came from the center of town.

_ 7:10 AM _

The sudden explosion shook the precinct, and everyone was freaking out.

"What the hell was that," Taiyang said.

"EXPLOSION NEAR NEAR THE SQUARE! ALL UNITS MOVE TO SECURE," a soldier yelled outside.

Taiyang looked to Agent Callows but was shocked to see that Callows did not seem to care about the explosion as he continued to stare at a monitor.

_ 7:11 AM _

The soldier absent-mindedly waved to a nearby soldier, "Open the gate!"

As the gate opened, the soldier screamed, "Leave now!"

Pietro took this opportunity to drive through the checkpoint quickly.

Once the group had left the city, everyone inside the RV was almost cheering that the plan worked.

_ If only that were true… _

_ 7:21 AM _

'Attention all units, Grimm appeared from the sewers and put me under some spell. They are driving an RV. I repeat, the Grimm are in an RV.'

"Private, rewind by fifteen minutes on the north exit," Agent Callows said.

The soldier did so, and everyone saw the RV appear and drive off just as the explosion went off. Agent Callows turned and proceeded towards the exit of the precinct.

"Send every unit, every Hunter, every fucking officer standing by after that RV. They will not get away," Agent Callows said.

Taiyang followed Agent Callows towards the vehicles and quickly drove after the RV.

_ 7:28 AM _

The group was enjoying the small sense of freedom of getting out of Burlington while Hazel and Pietro were focused. Ruby got up and proceeded to the front as Hazel and Pietro were talking.

"Ah, Miss Rose, what is it?"

"What will happen to Sun and the others," Ruby asked.

"They know the plan for relocation. After the diversion, they will relocate to another safe house to lay low. Once they think it is safe to travel, they will use move north, "Hazel said, "Don't worry. They will be fine."

Ruby nodded and began to walk back to her seat when the RV suddenly shook violently, and multiple bullet holes went through the walls of the RV.

"MISS ROSE, GET BACK INTO YOUR SEAT NOW," Hazel yelled.

"What is it," Ruby asked.

"Hunters," Hazel said as three drones flew in front of them.

"Looks like we have been found," Pietro said as he punched the gas.

"Keep driving, Pietro. I'll cover you," Hazel said as he opened the door and leaned out of the side, " _ Electricae _ !"

Ruby looked out of the window and watched as one of the Hunters was destroyed by the electricity from a second Hunter drone.

Hazel was about to use the spell again when the Hunters suddenly vanished.

"Where did he…"

But that is when Nora screamed, "LOOK OUT!"

There was a gunshot. A single gunshot that caused would change everything. It was like a moment of shock in the middle of a warzone.

Ruby watched as gravity seemed to vanish. Velvet slowly flew out of her seat as Coco's eyes slowly widened in fear, Jaune tried to reach for Velvet but failed while Ren and Nora were hugging each other tightly. As Ruby stood there, she only had a split second to react… and by then, it was too late. Everything went dark.

"…by… uby wa… up… RUBY!"

Ruby was woken up with multiple stings across her body as Jaune was shaking her.

"Ruby get up!" Jaune yelled.

As Ruby got up, she saw that they were in front of a forest as there was still a loud ringing in her head. As her ears regained their hearing, she looked around to see that the RV was on its side, one of the tires had been shot out, and the vehicle was turned over.

"...Vel?"

Ruby looked to see Coco was laying beside Velvet, her eyes bloodshot and body limp.

"Vel… Vel, wake up…" Coco said, her voice breaking as she tried shaking Velvet's body, "VELVET THIS ISN'T FUNNY! WAKE UP!"

_ She never did wake up. I think her neck snapped in the car... I remember hearing Coco telling her to put on her seatbelt. _

Coco pulled her sister's body close to her as she sobbed into her sister's shoulder, "Oh god Vel… I'm so sorry…"

"If those Hunters are after us, then the army is short behind," Pietro said.

"He's right, we have to go," Ren said.

Hazel crouched down and placed his hand on Coco's shoulder, "I am sorry, child, but we have to g—"

"No," Coco said.

"She would not want you to die here beside her," Hazel said.

Coco pulled her revolver out and aimed it at Hazel, "Touch us, and I kill you."

Hazel saw how shaky Coco's hand was and slowly grabbed the revolver and moved it down before asking, "If you were the one who died, what would you have her do?"

As Coco stared at Velvet, she looked down, "Survive…"

"Miss Adel, we must move now," Hazel said.

Coco pulled Velvet close and kissed her forehead before gently setting her down and placing her arms on her chest. Hazel placed his hand on Velvet's head and said, " _ Somnus in pace, parum unum _ .  _ Vos reperio ut pacem quaerimus _ ."

"We have to move, like, right now," Nora said.

Suddenly, three Hunters appears overhead, 'Grimm located, taking—'

An almost blood-curdling scream came from Coco as she aimed the revolver and shot down one of the Hunters, with two left which Hazel took care of with a swift, " _ Electricae _ !"

"They know where we are. Quickly," Hazel said as the group ran into the forest.

_ 7:43 AM _

The jeeps and Hunters all came to the entrance of the forest near the broken down RV. Standing beside the RV was Agent Callows.

"There is a dead Grimm, sir," The soldier said.

"How about we make extra sure," Agent Callows said.

The soldier nodded and shot Velvet three times in vital areas, shocking Taiyang. But Agent Callows calmly said, "Now everyone, go out and do your jobs. No survivors."

Taiyang loaded his gun and followed the soldiers into the forest, but Agent Callows was not one to trust Mr. Long with this task, "Who here is in charge of the drones?"

"Private Tucker, sir."

"Have a Hunter tail Mr. Long," Agent Callows said.

"Yes sir," Private Tucker pressed a couple of buttons on his wrist and a Hunter followed after Taiyang.

_ 7:52 AM _

The snow was up to their feet as the group continued on through the forest. Ruby looked back to Coco, who seemed... broken. Her eyes still irritated, and her expression was a state of shock. Looking back ahead of her, Ruby saw Hazel as he was leading them through the snowy forest.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past them and hit a tree, and they all heard, "Grimm! Seven of them! Twelve o'clock!"

"RUN," Hazel yelled, "Pietro and I will cover you!"

"On it," Pietro yelled as he aimed his hand towards the ground, " _ AER _ !"

Pietro sent a burst of air at the ground, sending thousands of particles into the air and creating a small smoke screen. The group continued, dodging bullets that hit the snow and trees around them under cover of the snow.

Two drones flew in from the sky, firing down towards the Grimm, but were quickly disabled by Jaune and Ren after using the electric spell.

"Jaune! Ren! Aim for the trees," Hazel said.

Jaune and Ren did so and sent the electricity into multiple trees, setting them aflame.

"Arbores," Hazel said as he pulled the tall trees down and blocking the soldiers from following. But in that moment, Hazel pulled down a tree that began to fall between the group, separating Nora, Ren, and Hazel on one side, and Pietro, Ruby, Jaune, and Coco on the other side. As Hazel tried to lift the tree with a spell, he was shot in the arm.

"AGH," Hazel said as he grabbed his arm, "Pietro, it's too dangerous. Pietro, follow the second route, and we will reconvene at the wall."

"This way," They heard the soldiers yell.

"Okay, quickly, children," Pietro said as the group followed him through the forest.

"How far are we from the wall," Ruby asked as they ran over a snow slope.

"Come on, children. I think I see— AGH!"

Ruby watched in horror as Pietro was shot twice in the back before falling to the ground. His eyes dilated, blood pouring from his back and chest, covering the snow with more blood.

Pietro was dead… and the person who shot him... was Taiyang.

"Ruby."

"Dad?"

_ 7:55 AM _

"Lieutenant Long has made contact. Should I send in the Hunter to assist," Private Tucker asked.

"Wait… I want to see what this Grimm will do next."

_ 7:56 AM _

_ As I stared at my father, it was not anger or hatred that I saw in his eyes... it was sadness and exhaustion. I saw the grey hairs in his beard, his body armor looked heavy, and his hands shaking as if we were in an earthquake. _

"Ruby…" He said again as if he had to make sure that she was real.

Coco took a step in front of the two and aimed her revolver at Taiyang, "Stay. Back."

Ruby took a step in front of Coco and placed a hand on her gun, and pushed it down.

"Ruby, what're you doing," Coco asked.

"It's okay…"

Taiyang extended his hand, "Ruby, come with me…"

Ruby took another step towards him, "You know I can't do that."

Taiyang closed his eyes, knowing that was going to be her response, "I-I can protect you… I promise."

"You know that letting me go is the only way that you can protect me now," Ruby took a step forward. However, they all saw his eyes narrow and heard the safety switch as he aimed his gun at Ruby, "I won't let you leave again."

Coco raised her gun, but Jaune stopped her.

Taking one more step, Ruby's chest was now only a few inches from the gun, "Then do it… because this is what will happen if you take me in now."

Taiyang's eyes began to shed tears as he hesitantly kept the gun trained on her heart before lowering the gun, fell to his knees, and began crying uncontrollably.

"I… I'm sorry, Ruby… I'm so sorry… Please don't go…"

Ruby knelt down and met her father's eye level and pulled him into a hug, which he embraced.

"I'm sorry, dad, but this is something that I have to do…"

Ruby tightened her embrace as she placed her hand on the back of his head as she began to shed tears of her own. Believing that this was the only way that he can be at peace, Ruby said the spell…

" _ Memoria... Damnus Ruby... Memoria Damnus Ruby Rose… _ "

"I am sorry father… if remembering me will bring you pain… then it would be best if you do not remember me at all…"

_ I saw everything… My birth, my first steps, my first bike ride, every movie night... mom's funeral… everything was flashing before my eyes. _

When she had collected every memory of her from Taiyang, Ruby pulled her hand back. In the palm of her hand was an orb. This contained Taiyang's memories of Ruby. Looking down at her father, Ruby saw that he was in a state of confusion or shock.

Reaching into her jacket pocket, Ruby pulled out the photo of her mother and the letter that was with it. Using her hand with the memories in it, Ruby pushed the orb into the picture, infusing it with the memories. 

"When you wish to remember… say my name."

Ruby placed the photo in the letter and placed it gently on the snow in front of him. Reacting to it, Taiyang looked up at the, now, mysterious strangers.

"Who… Who are you?"

With tears in her eyes, Ruby said, "My name is Ruby… and we um... we found you laying here."

"Ruby…that's a nice name," Taiyang looked down at the photo and letter that were placed in front of him. He picked them up and looked to Ruby, "Is… Is this yours?"

"…No, you dropped that."

Taiyang then saw Ruby's tears, "Why are you crying?"

Ruby wiped her eyes, "You just… You remind me of someone I knew."

The moment was ruined by the sound of gunfire, surprising everyone as Coco readied her gun. Taiyang stood up and seemed concerned and reached for his gun.

"That sounds like shooting."

"We're uh… at a shooting range," Coco said.

"Oh… well, do you know how to get out of here?"

"Yeah. Just head that way…" Jaune said, point in the direction that they had come from.

"Thank you, young man," Taiyang said as he stood up, putting the photo in his jacket, "Well, I better take off now, Summer is going to kill me. I told her I was going to get off of work early to take her to the doctor. Well, I guess I will deal with that when it comes. Take care, you guys. A-And, excuse me… what did you say your name was again?"

Ruby looked to her father again, "Ruby."

"That's funny… you look like my wife. She always wanted a daughter," Taiyang said as he walked away.

Ruby watched her father walk off. As this happened, she could not conceal the tears in her eyes.

Jaune walked up and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Hearing the gunfire in the distance, Jaune said, "Ruby… I'm sorry, but we have to go…"

"I know…"

_ 8:11 AM _

"How sweet… send in the Hunter," Agent Callows said.

_ 8:12 AM _

Coco was helping Ruby up the small slope when Jaune yelled, "LOOK OUT!"

Ruby turned to see the Hunter was in front of them; it's gun at the ready. Coco pulled her gun while Jaune ran up and shouted, " _ Electricae _ !"

Coco fired her gun, damaging the Hunter's armor. But as the drone began to short circuit, a single shot was fired before it crashed into the ground.

"I got it," Jaune cheered.

As the group was happy with their victory, Coco turned to see Ruby, and her eyes widened, "Jaune."

"Did you see that? That was awesome."

"Jaune!"

"What," Jaune asked as he turned to Coco and saw Ruby.

_ I was confused. Why did they stare at me as if they saw something horrible? I was happy too. I was so energetic. I… Why was I suddenly feeling this strange soreness in my stomach? That's when I looked down to see that the source of the pain was from the bullet went right through my midriff. _

Ruby looked up and hesitantly took a step forward, "Jaune…?"

Coco and Jaune grabbed Ruby to keep her from falling as Jaune said, "It's okay. It's okay, Ruby. We'll get you to Hazel. He will know what to do."

As they lifted Ruby up, Ruby screamed in pain as blood continued to leak from her stomach.

"The shots came from this way," the kids heard.

"Shit," Jaune said, "Coco, keep us covered."

Coco checked her gun to see she had only two bullets left, "Jaune, I'm low."

"Just keep us covered, Goddammit."

_ My body felt heavy… my eyes were getting heavy… and I felt sick, in pain, and tired all at once. _

As they pushed towards the wall, Ruby stared ahead and saw how far they had to go.

"Jaune…" Ruby wheezed.

"Hang on, Ruby," Jaune said, "Coco, how are we?"

"They're getting closer."

Jaune set Ruby down and proceeded ahead before coming back.

"Okay, I see the wall. It's only a few slopes, but I think we can pull it off. Are you ready, Ruby," Jaune asked.

Ruby hesitantly nodded, so Jaune grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up, but the pain was so excruciating…that Ruby collapsed before she even took a step.

"Ruby," Jaune said in fear.

As Jaune helped Ruby up, Ruby glanced towards Coco. Both she and Coco knew…

As Jaune lifted her back up, Ruby saw the blood trail behind them as she slipped out of Jaune's grip and fell back onto the ground.

"They went this way," they heard.

"Jaune, we're running out of time," Coco said.

"Just fucking cover us, Coco. Ruby, please, you have to get up."

"I… I can't..."

"Ruby, we're almost there," Jaune said, "Okay? Come on. Just one more push, okay?"

As Jaune tried to pick her up, Ruby cried in agony, "Jaune, stop!"

As Jaune felt something wet cover his hands, he looked to see blood. It was then that he knew that it was too late. He just didn't want to believe it.

"Ruby, you can't give up.," Jaune said, tears streaming down his face.

"They'll follow the trail…" Ruby said, weakly pointing in the direction that they came from.

"N-No… I'll hide the trail. Just give me a—"

"They are already on their way," Coco said.

Jaune stood up and shouted, "FUCK!"

"Jaune…"

Jaune looked to Ruby, a bloodied smile on her pale face.

"You have to go."

"No. Fuck that, we'll stay and—"

Ruby pulled out the letter that was in her pocket and handed it to Jaune, "Go."

"I promised to look after you…"

"And I... am protecting you now," Ruby said.

Jaune took the paper and put it in his pocket, "Ruby, I…"

"Go…"

Coco placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder, "Jaune… it's time to go."

Jaune wiped his eyes as he stood up and back away. Coco took a moment to kneel down top see Ruby, "Hey…"

"Coco…"

"I know, and I will. Just like I know you would have," Coco looked down at her gun, "Would you like me to..."

Ruby shook her head as she felt herself slipping, "I like it here..."

Coco nodded and stood up before looking at Jaune, "We should move. Goodbye, Ruby."

Jaune said nothing. He just looked down and followed Coco. Ruby watched as the two ran off with a slight smile on her face as she weakly said, "Goodbye…"

Ruby looked back at the path that she came from... and waited.

_ As I sit here, I could feel the crisp breeze of the cold winter air whisking my hair like red-seeded dandelions in the wind. I could feel the snowflakes landing on my body like a cool blanket on a hot summer day. I could feel my eyes grow heavier, my breath getting wheezy. I knew what this meant and deep down… I felt okay with it. _

As Ruby gently lowered her head to shut her eyes, she heard a voice. A voice she has not heard since…

Slowly looking up, Ruby saw a figure approaching her, just like in her dream. Only this time, the figure was so real, Ruby thought that she was dreaming. A smile slowly formed on Ruby's face as she hesitantly asked, "M-Mom?"

Summer looked at Ruby, and she gave a smile to her daughter. Summer kneeled down and picked up the dying young girl and carried her away.

_ As I am carried into the unknown, I begin realize something. Something ironic… I did… After everything that has happened, I was constantly thinking about doing it. But I realize that, in a way, I did... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this was an actual book, you would shut it and realize she is saying that "she did Escape."
> 
> Let me know if you would like the epilogue I thought of.


End file.
